Hyena - Brown Hyena
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This is a double image of the same young male Brown Hyena standing in the dry grass at night. It is a brown furred, shaggy-looking, mostly nocturnal, creature. It is smaller and much less aggressive than its cousin, the spotted hyena. It is very furtive and prefers a solitary existence, avoiding areas inhabited by spotted hyenas and other large carnivores, often choosing a desert or savannah where it can feed on carrion of other animals' kills, ostrich eggs, and melons. To photograph them, it is very helpful that they be somewhat acculturated to humans, vehicles, etc. Thus, I was fortunate to be able to visit and photograph an area of a study group. [ Jack's Camp, nr the Central Kalahari, Botswana].
A double image of a Brown Hyena in the dry grass: The same animal as previous. All of these night images were taken with flash. (Please consult 1st caption). [Jack's Camp, nr Central Kalahari, Botswana].
Brown Hyena Marking: The L image shows the small whitish bulge at the anus of one of the marking bladders which normally lies within the anus. The 'Brown' has two marking secretions, stored in 2 different pouches stored within the anus: one is black, and the other, white. The 'white' is less durable and seen usually on the stems of long grass. The black paste can be seen on a stem of grass, alone or with the white paste. [Jack's Camp, nr Central Kalahari, Botswana].
A double image of a Brown Hyena yawning: Like its spotted cousin, the 'Brown' has very strong jaws and teeth. It can easily chew up--and digest--bone to get to the nutricious marrow. A 'Brown' rarely makes a kill of a herbivore-- it is not a cattle killer, as some farmers assert. An exceptional sense of smell enables it to detect carrion from a considerable distance, enabling it to be the first to arrive at a carcass. [Jack's Camp, nr Central Kalahari, Botswana].
Brown Hyena napping & yawning-(dbl image): There was plenty of light left when these two pictures were taken. I couldn't resist such a photographic opportunity in daylight. Again, the typical husky hyena jaw and mouthful of strong teeth. [Botswana].
Double image of a Brown Hyena male, walking and sitting. The L image illustrating the posteriorly slanting body, characteristic of hyenas caused by the front legs being longer than the rear ones. R, the transverse black bars on the forelegs, typical of this species, is well shown. [Botswana].
A double image of the young male Brown Hyena browsing. Two views of the same animal, luckily obtained at dusk. (Please see all preceding captions). [Jack's Camp, nr Central Kalahari, Botswana].
Brown Hyena (M)-Frontal & Side Views-dbl
The male Brown Hyena-a double image of a frontal & side view. Night shots, unlike daylight pictures, don't show the subtle coloring of the fur. (Please see all the preceding captions for more information). [Botswana].
Brown Hyena male with a bone he had stored---probably from some carrion that he had found. We spent much of one evening following him around his territory. He would produce a bone from one site or a piece of rib-cage from another. He would feed for a few minutes from each, replace it, and move on. I was hoping the he would show us how easily he could masticate this bone, but he seemed more interested in just taking inventory of his cache. (Please see previous captions). [Jack's Camp, nr Central Kalahari, Botswana].
Brown Hyena male sitting on his haunches: Previously, many times I have caught glimpses of this animal, but they always fled as soon as they saw me. Photgraphing this animal up close is a very unusual experience that has resulted because of the animal's having been acclimated to humans by a research team. I admit taking advantage of this opportunity. (Please see captions on previous images). [Jack's Camp, nr Central Kalahari, Botswana].
