View source for Striped hyena

{{short description|Species of hyena}}
{{redirect|Hyaena}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Striped hyena
| fossil_range = {{Fossil range|2.0|0|[[Early Pleistocene]] – Recent}}
| image = Striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena) - cropped.jpg
| status = NT
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{cite iucn |title=''Hyaena hyaena'' |author=AbiSaid, M. |author2=Dloniak, S.M.D. |date=2015 |article-number=e.T10274A45195080 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T10274A45195080.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref>
| display_parents = 2
| genus = Hyaena
| parent_authority = Brisson, 1762
| species = hyaena
| authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]]) <ref>{{cite book |last=Linnæus |first=C. |title=Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I |year=1758 |publisher=Laurentius Salvius |location=Holmiæ (Stockholm) |edition=Tenth |language=la |page=40 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/80764#page/50/mode/1up |access-date=2018-01-14 |archive-date=2012-11-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108003214/http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/80764#page/50/mode/1up |url-status=live }}</ref> 
| synonyms = {{collapsible list
|''Canis hyaena'' <small>[[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]]</small>
|''Hyaena antiquorum'' <small>(Temminck, 1820)</small>
|''Hyaena barbara'' <small>de Blainville, 1844</small>
|''Hyaena bergeri'' <small>Matschie, 1910</small>
|''Hyaena bilkiewiczi'' <small>Satunin, 1905</small>
|''Hyaena bokcharensis'' <small>Satunin, 1905</small>
|''Hyaena dubbah'' <small>Meyer, 1793</small>
|''Hyaena dubia'' <small>Schinz, 1821</small>
|''Hyaena fasciata'' <small>Thunberg, 1820</small>
|''Hyaena hienomelas'' <small>Matschie, 1900</small>
|''Hyaena hyaenomelas'' <small>(Bruce In Desmarest, 1820)</small>
|''Hyaena indica'' <small>de Blainville, 1844</small>
|''Hyaena orientalis'' <small>Tiedemann, 1808</small>
|''Hyaena rendilis'' <small>Lönnberg, 1912</small>
|''Hyaena satunini'' <small>Matschie, 1910</small>
|''Hyaena schillingsi'' <small>Matschie, 1900</small>
|''Hyaena striata'' <small>Zimmermann, 1777</small>
|''Hyaena suilla'' <small>Filippi, 1853</small>
|''Hyaena sultana'' <small>Pocock, 1934</small>
|''Hyaena syriaca'' <small>Matschie, 1900</small>
|''Hyaena virgata'' <small>Ogilby, 1840</small>
|''Hyaena vulgaris'' <small>Desmarest, 1820</small>
|''Hyaena zarudnyi'' <small>Satunin, 1905</small>
}}
| synonyms_ref = <ref name=MSW3>{{MSW3 | id=14000687 | heading = ''Hyaena hyaena''}}</ref>
| range_map = Striped Hyaena area.png
| range_map_caption = {{align|left|{{color box|#4E7F2A}} Striped hyena range}} 
}}

The '''striped hyena''' ('''''Hyaena hyaena''''') is a species of [[hyena]] native to [[North Africa|North]] and [[East Africa]], the [[Middle East]], the [[Caucasus]], [[Central Asia]], and the [[Indian subcontinent]]. It is the only extant species in the genus '''''Hyaena'''''. It is listed by the [[IUCN]] as [[Near-threatened species|near-threatened]], as the global population is estimated to be under 10,000 mature individuals which continues to experience deliberate and incidental persecution along with a decrease in its prey base such that it may come close to meeting a continuing decline of 10% over the next three generations.<ref name=iucn/>

It is the smallest of the bone-cracking hyenas and retains many primitive [[viverridae|viverrid]]-like characteristics lost in larger species,<ref name="k66"/> having a smaller and less specialised skull.<ref name="r348" /><ref name="h16" /> Though primarily a scavenger, large specimens have been known to kill their own prey,<ref name="m22"/> and attacks on humans have occurred in rare instances.<ref name="h46"/> The striped hyena is a [[Monogamy in animals|monogamous]] animal, with both males and females assisting one another in raising their cubs.<ref name="h40"/> A [[Nocturnality|nocturnal]] animal, the striped hyena typically only emerges in complete darkness, and is quick to return to its lair before sunrise.<ref name="h36"/> Although it has a habit of [[Apparent death|feigning death]] when attacked, it has been known to stand its ground against larger predators in disputes over food.<ref name="p72"/>

The striped hyena features prominently in [[Middle East|Middle Eastern]] and [[Asia|Asian]] folklore. In some areas, its body parts are considered magical, and are used as [[Spell (paranormal)|charms]] or [[talisman]]s.<ref name="magic" /> It is mentioned in the [[Hebrew Bible]], where it is referred to as ''tzebua'' or ''zevoa'', though it is absent in some [[Bible translations into English]].<ref name="BOTF" /> Ancient Greeks knew it as ''γλάνος'' (glános) and ''ύαινα'' (húaina) and were familiar with it from the Aegean coast of [[Asia Minor]].<ref>Αριστοτέλης 4th century BCE: Των περί τα ζώα ιστοριών.</ref> The striped hyena is the [[List of national animals|national animal]] of [[Lebanon]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-is-the-national-animal-of-lebanon.html|title=What is the National Animal of Lebanon?|website=WorldAtlas|date=20 August 2018|language=en|access-date=2020-03-18|archive-date=2020-03-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200318041744/https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-is-the-national-animal-of-lebanon.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Evolution ==
Striped hyena fossils are common in Africa, with records going back as far as the [[Early Pleistocene]].<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Patterson, D.B.|author2=Faith, J.T.|author3=Bobe, R.|author4=Wood, B.|year=2014|title=Regional diversity patterns in African bovids, hyaenids, and felids during the past 3 million years: the role of taphonomic bias and implications for the evolution of ''Paranthropus''|journal=Quaternary Science Reviews|volume=96|pages=9–22|doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.11.011 |bibcode=2014QSRv...96....9P }}</ref> The species may have evolved from ''Hyaenictitherium namaquensis'' of [[Pliocene]] [[Africa]]. As fossil striped hyenas are absent from the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean region]], it is likely that the species is a relatively late invader to Eurasia, having likely spread outside Africa only after the extirpation of [[spotted hyena]]s from Asia at the end of the [[last glacial period]]. The striped hyena occurred for some time in [[Europe]] during the Pleistocene, having been particularly widespread in [[France]] and [[Germany]]. It also occurred in [[Montmaurin]], [[Hollabrunn]] in [[Austria]], the Furninha Cave in [[Portugal]], and the [[Genista Caves]] in [[Gibraltar]]. The European form was similar in appearance to modern populations, but was larger, being comparable in size to the [[brown hyena]].<ref name="k66">{{Harvnb|Kurtén|1968|pp=66–68}}</ref>

== Description ==
===Build===
[[File:Animaldentition hyaenahyaena.png|200px|left|thumb|Dentition, as illustrated in Knight's ''Sketches in Natural History'']]
[[File:Die vergleichende Osteologie (1821) Hyaena hyaena.jpg|200px|thumb|Skeleton]]
The striped hyena has a fairly massive, but short [[torso]] set on long legs. The hind legs are significantly shorter than the forelimbs, thus causing the back to slope downwards. The legs are relatively thin and weak, with the forelegs being bent at the [[carpal bones|carpal region]]. The neck is thick, long and largely immobile, while the head is heavy and massive with a shortened facial region. The eyes are small, while the sharply pointed ears are very large, broad and set high on the head. Like all hyenas, the striped hyena has bulky pads on its paws, as well as blunt but powerful claws. The tail is short and the [[terminal hair]]s do not descend below the [[achilles tendon]].<ref name="h11">{{Harvnb|Heptner|Sludskii|1992|pp=11–14}}</ref> The female striped hyena's genitalia are transiently masculinized,<ref>Wagner, Aaron Parker. [https://scholarworks.montana.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1/2485/WagnerA0506.pdf?sequence=1&sa=U&ei=TkBQU9mhMarOygPXmILwAw&ved=0CEQQFjAI&usg=AFQjCNFclCGZG5nDY8_cHYctTP0YZf1Jhg&sa=U&ei=BEhsU6eLMtKysAT-z4HYDw&ved=0CCoQFjAD&usg=AFQjCNEVMW5KputRdDnMToT65jPDYxTg7g Behavioral ecology of the striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927045638/https://scholarworks.montana.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1/2485/WagnerA0506.pdf?sequence=1&sa=U&ei=TkBQU9mhMarOygPXmILwAw&ved=0CEQQFjAI&usg=AFQjCNFclCGZG5nDY8_cHYctTP0YZf1Jhg&sa=U&ei=BEhsU6eLMtKysAT-z4HYDw&ved=0CCoQFjAD&usg=AFQjCNEVMW5KputRdDnMToT65jPDYxTg7g |date=2021-09-27 }}. Diss. Montana State University-Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2006.</ref> although it lacks the enlarged clitoris and false scrotal sack noted in the [[female genitalia of the spotted hyena]].<ref name="h8">{{Harvnb|Heptner|Sludskii|1992|p=8}}</ref> The female has 3 pairs of [[nipple]]s.<ref name="p67">{{Harvnb|Pocock|1941|p=67}}</ref> Adult weight can range from {{cvt|22|to|55|kg}}, averaging at about {{cvt|35|kg}}. Body length can range from {{cvt|85|to|130|cm}}, not counting a tail of {{cvt|25|to|40|cm}}, and shoulder height is between {{cvt|60|-|80|cm}}.<ref name="m21">{{Harvnb|Mills|Hofer|1998|p=21}}</ref><ref>[http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-striped_hyena.html Mammals: Striped Hyena] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121130131612/http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-striped_hyena.html |date=2012-11-30 }}. San Diego Zoo</ref><ref>Boitani, Luigi, ''Simon & Schuster's Guide to Mammals''. Simon & Schuster/Touchstone Books (1984), {{ISBN|978-0-671-42805-1}}</ref><ref>Awad, Simon (February 2008). [http://www.thisweekinpalestine.com/details.php?id=2384&ed=150&edid=150 Myths and Facts about Hyenas] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140301222009/http://www.thisweekinpalestine.com/details.php?id=2384&ed=150&edid=150 |date=2014-03-01 }}. thisweekinpalestine.com #118</ref> {{anchor|Scent glands}}The male has a large pouch of naked skin located at the anal opening. Large anal glands open into it from above the [[anus]]. Several [[sebaceous gland]]s are present between the openings of the anal glands and above them.<ref name="p62">{{Harvnb|Pocock|1941|pp=62–63}}</ref> The anus can be everted up to a length of 5&nbsp;cm, and is everted during social interaction and mating. When attacked, the striped hyena everts its rectum and sprays a pungent smelling liquid from its anal glands.<ref name="h38">{{Harvnb|Heptner|Sludskii|1992|p=38}}</ref> Its sense of [[Olfaction|smell]] is acute, though its [[eyesight]] and sense of [[hearing (sense)|hearing]] are weak.<ref name="p73" />
[[File:Description iconographique comparée du squelette et du système dentaire des mammifères récents et fossiles (Hyaena hyaena skull).jpg|thumb|Views of the skull]]
The [[skull]] is entirely typical of the genus, having a very high [[sagittal crest]], a shortened facial region and an inflated [[frontal bone]].<ref name="h14">{{Harvnb|Heptner|Sludskii|1992|p=14}}</ref> The skull of the striped hyena differs from that of the brown<ref name="h16">{{Harvnb|Heptner|Sludskii|1992|p=16}}</ref> and spotted hyena by its smaller size and slightly less massive build. It is nonetheless still powerfully structured and well adapted to anchoring exceptionally strong jaw muscles<ref name="r348" /> which give it enough bite-force to splinter a [[camel]]'s thigh bone.<ref name="p73" /> Although the dentition is overall smaller than that of the spotted hyena, the upper molar of the striped hyena is far larger.<ref name="r348">{{Harvnb|Rosevear|1974|p=348}}</ref> The [[dental formula]] is {{DentalFormula|upper=3.1.4.0–1|lower=3.1.3.{{0}}1{{0}}}}.

=== Fur ===
The winter coat is unusually long and uniform for an animal its size, with a luxuriant mane of tough, long hairs along the back from the [[occiput]] to the base of the tail. The coat is generally coarse and bristly, though this varies according to season. In winter, the coat is fairly dense, soft, and has well-developed underfur. The [[guard hair]]s are 50–75&nbsp;mm long on the flanks, 150–225&nbsp;mm long on the mane and 150&nbsp;mm on the tail. In summer, the coat is much shorter and coarser, and lacks underfur, though the mane remains large.<ref name="h11"/>

In winter, the coat is usually of a dirty-brownish grey or dirty grey colour. The hairs of the mane are light grey or white at the base, and black or dark brown at the tips. The muzzle is dark, greyish brown, brownish-grey or black, while the top of the head and cheeks are more lightly coloured. The ears are almost black. A large black spot is present on the front of the neck, and is separated from the chin by a light zone. A dark field ascends from the flanks ascending to the rear of the cheeks. The inner and outer surface of the forelegs are covered with small dark spots and transverse stripes. The flanks have four indistinct dark vertical stripes and rows of diffused spots. The outer surface of the thighs has 3–4 distinct vertical or oblique dark bands which merge into transverse stripes in the lower portion of the legs. The tip of the tail is black with white underfur.<ref name="h11"/>

=== Geographic variation ===
{{As of|2005}},<ref name="MSW3" /> no [[subspecies]] are recognised. The striped hyena is nonetheless a geographically varied animal. Hyenas in the Arabian peninsula have an accentuated blackish dorsal mane, with mid-dorsal hairs reaching 20&nbsp;cm in length. The base colour of Arabian hyenas is grey to whitish grey, with dusky grey muzzles and buff yellow below the eyes. Hyenas in Israel have a dorsal crest which is mixed grey and black in colour, rather than being predominantly black.<ref name="m21"/> The largest striped hyenas come from the Middle East, Asia Minor, Central and the Indian subcontinent, while those of East Africa and the Arabian peninsula are smaller.<ref name="m22">{{Harvnb|Mills|Hofer|1998|p=22}}</ref><ref name="o427">{{Harvnb|Osborn|Helmy|1980|p=427}}</ref>

== Behaviour ==

=== Social and territorial behaviours ===
The striped hyena is a primarily [[Nocturnality|nocturnal]] animal, which typically only leaves its den at the onset of total darkness, returning before sunrise.<ref name="h36">{{Harvnb|Heptner|Sludskii|1992|pp=36–37}}</ref> Striped hyenas typically live alone or in pairs, though groups of up to seven animals are known in [[Libya]]. They are generally not territorial animals, with home ranges of different groups often overlapping each other. Home ranges in the [[Serengeti]] have been recorded to be {{convert|44|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}-{{convert|72|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}, while one in the [[Negev]] was calculated at {{convert|61|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}. When [[Scent marking|marking their territory]], striped hyenas use the paste of their anal pouch ([[hyena butter]]) to [[scent mark]] grass, stalks, stones, tree trunks, and other objects. In aggressive encounters, the black patch near the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae is erected. When fighting, striped hyenas will bite at the throat and legs, but avoid the mane, which serves as a signaling device. When greeting each other, they lick the mid-back region, sniff each other's noses, extrude their anal pouch, or paw each other's throats.<ref name="m24"/> The species is not as vocal as the spotted hyena, its vocalisations being limited to a chattering laugh and howling.<ref name="p73"/>
[[File:Striped Hyena (Hyaena hyaena).jpg|thumb|Striped hyena in [[Gir National Park]], India]]

=== Reproduction and development ===
The striped hyena is [[Monogamy in animals|monogamous]], with the male establishing the den with the female, helping her raise and feed when cubs are born. The [[Breeding season|mating season]] varies according to location; in [[Transcaucasia]], striped hyenas breed in January–February, while those in southeast [[Turkmenistan|Turkmenia]] breed in October–November. In captivity, breeding is non-seasonal. [[Mating]] can occur at any time of the day, during which the male grips the skin of the female's neck.<ref name="h40">{{Harvnb|Heptner|Sludskii|1992|pp=40–42}}</ref>
[[File:Striped Hyena, Delhi Zoo.jpg|alt=A striped hyena at the zoo with its tongue out|thumb|A captive striped hyena at the [[National Zoological Park Delhi|Delhi Zoo]]]]
The [[gestation period]] lasts 90–91 days. Striped hyena cubs are born with adult markings, closed eyes, and small ears. This is in marked contrast to newborn spotted hyena cubs which are born almost fully developed, though with black, unmarked coats.<ref name="r350">{{Harvnb|Rosevear|1974|p=350}}</ref> Their eyes open after 7–8 days, and the cubs leave their dens after one month. Cubs are weaned at the age of 2 months, and are then fed by both parents. By autumn, the cubs are half the size of their parents. In the wild, striped hyenas can live for 12 years, while in captivity they have been known to reach 23.<ref name="h40"/>

=== Burrowing behaviours ===
The striped hyena may dig its own dens, but it also establishes its lairs in caves, rock fissures, erosion channels, and burrows formerly occupied by [[Porcupine|porcupines]], [[Wolf|wolves]], [[Warthog|warthogs]], and [[Aardvark|aardvarks]]. Hyena dens can be identified by the presence of bones at their entrances. The striped hyena hides in caves, niches, pits, dense thickets, reeds, and plume grass during the day to shelter from predators, heat, or winter cold. The size and elaboration of striped hyena dens varies according to location. Dens in the [[Karakum Desert|Karakum]] have entrances 0.67–0.72 m wide and are extended over a distance of 4.15–5 m, with no lateral extensions or special chambers. In contrast, hyena dens in [[Israel]] are much more elaborate and large, exceeding 27 m in length.<ref name="m24"/><ref name="h33">{{Harvnb|Heptner|Sludskii|1992|pp=33–36}}</ref>

=== Diet ===
[[File:Hyena 6.jpg|thumb|Striped hyena scavenging in [[Mirzapur district|Mirzapur]] forest division, India]]
The striped hyena is primarily a scavenger which feeds mainly on [[ungulate]] (such as such as [[zebra]], [[wildebeest]], [[gazelle]] and [[impala]]) carcasses in different stages of [[decomposition]], fresh bones, [[cartilage]]s, [[ligament]]s, and [[bone marrow]].<ref name="animaldiversity.org">{{cite web | url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Hyaena_hyaena/ | title=ADW: Hyaena hyaena: INFORMATION | website=[[Animal Diversity Web]] }}</ref> It crushes long bones into fine particles and swallows them, though sometimes entire bones are eaten whole.<ref name="h31">{{Harvnb|Heptner|Sludskii|1992|pp=31–33}}</ref> The striped hyena is not a fussy eater, though it has an aversion to [[Old World vultures|vulture]] flesh.<ref name="r349">{{Harvnb|Rosevear|1974|p=349}}</ref> It will occasionally attack and kill any animal it can overcome, like hare, rodents, reptiles and birds.<ref name="p72">{{Harvnb|Pocock|1941|p=72}}</ref><ref name="animaldiversity.org">{{cite web | url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Hyaena_hyaena/ | title=ADW: Hyaena hyaena: INFORMATION | website=[[Animal Diversity Web]] }}</ref> It hunts prey by running it down, grabbing its flanks or groin and inflicting mortal wounds by tearing out the [[viscera]].<ref name="h39">{{Harvnb|Heptner|Sludskii|1992|p=39}}</ref> In [[Turkmenistan]], the species is recorded to feed on [[wild boar]], [[Mongolian wild ass|kulan]], [[porcupine]]s, and [[tortoise]]s. A seasonal abundance of [[Elaeagnus|oil willow fruit]]s is an important food source in [[Uzbekistan]] and [[Tajikistan]], while in the [[Caucasus]], it is [[grasshopper]]s.<ref name="h31"/> In Israel, the striped hyena feeds on garbage, carrion, and fruits. In eastern [[Jordan]], its main sources of food are feral horse and water buffalo carcasses and village refuse. It has been suggested that only the large hyenas of the Middle East, Asia minor, central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent attack large prey, with no evidence of the smaller Arabian and east African populations doing so.<ref name="m22"/> Because of its scavenging diet, the striped hyena requires more water to survive than most other carnivores.<ref name="h31"/> When eating, the striped hyena gorges itself until satisfied, though hyenas with cubs will transport food to their dens.<ref name="r349"/> Because of the high content of [[calcium]] in its diet, the [[feces]] of the striped hyena becomes white very rapidly, and can be visible from long distances.<ref name="h33"/>

=== Relationships with other predators ===
[[File:Indian Wolves eating Blackbuck Kill.png|thumb|Striped hyena observing [[Wolf|wolves]] consuming a [[blackbuck]] carcass]]
The striped hyena competes with the [[Wolf|grey wolf]] in the Middle East and central Asia. In the latter area, a great portion of the hyena's diet stems from wolf-killed carcasses. In Israel the striped hyena is dominant over the wolf on a one-to-one basis, though wolves in packs can displace single hyenas from carcasses.<ref name="m24">{{Harvnb|Mills|Hofer|1998|pp=24–25}}</ref> Both species have been known to share dens on occasion.<ref name="johnson">[[Daniel Johnson (surgeon)|Daniel Johnson]] (1827) ''[https://archive.org/stream/sketchesofindian00johnrich#page/46/mode/2up/search/hyena Sketches of Indian Field Sports: With Observations on the Animals; Also an Account of Some of the Customs of the Inhabitants; with a Description of the Art of Catching Serpents, as Practised by the Conjoors and Their Method of Curing Themselves when Bitten: with Remarks on Hydrophobia and Rabid Animals]'' p. 45-46, R. Jennings, 1827</ref> Rarely, striped hyenas have been known to travel with and live amongst wolf packs, with each species doing the other no harm. Both predators may benefit from this unusual alliance, as the hyenas have better senses of smell and greater strength, and the wolves may be better at tracking large prey.<ref>{{cite web |last=Hogenboom |first=Melissa |url=http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160324-the-hyena-that-lives-with-wolves |title=Earth – The hyena that made its home in a wolf pack |publisher=BBC |date=2016-03-26 |access-date=2017-01-03 |archive-date=2016-12-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227175409/http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160324-the-hyena-that-lives-with-wolves |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Red fox]]es may compete with striped hyenas on large carcasses. Red foxes may give way to hyenas on unopened carcasses, as the latter's stronger jaws can easily tear open flesh which is too tough for foxes. Foxes may harass hyenas, using their smaller size and greater speed to avoid the hyena's attacks. Sometimes, foxes seem to deliberately torment hyenas even when there is no food at stake. Some foxes may mistime their attacks, and are killed.<ref name="fox">Macdonald, David (1987) ''Running with the Fox'', p.77-79, Guild Publishing, London, {{ISBN|0-8160-1886-3}}</ref>

The species frequently scavenges from the kills of [[felid]]s such as [[tiger]]s, [[leopard]]s, [[cheetah]]s, and [[caracal]]s. A caracal can drive a subadult hyena from a carcass. The hyena usually wins in one-to-one disputes over carcasses with leopards, cheetahs, and tiger cubs, but is dominated by adult tigers.<ref name="p72"/><ref name="m24"/> In addition, the hyena is [[Sympatry|sympatric]] with the [[Asiatic lion]] in [[Gir Forest National Park]],<ref name="Singh2011">{{cite journal |url=http://www.dbs.nus.edu.sg/lab/cons-lab/documents/Singh_Gibson_Biol_Cons_2011.pdf |title=A conservation success story in the otherwise dire megafauna extinction crisis: The Asiatic lion (''Panthera leo persica'') of Gir forest |author=Singh, H. S. |author2=Gibson, L. |year=2011 |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=144 |issue=5 |pages=1753–1757 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2011.02.009 |bibcode=2011BCons.144.1753S |access-date=2017-07-18 |archive-date=2017-08-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808105532/http://www.dbs.nus.edu.sg/lab/cons-lab/documents/Singh_Gibson_Biol_Cons_2011.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> and the [[sloth bear]] in [[Balaram Ambaji Wildlife Sanctuary]], in the Indian State of [[Gujarat]].<ref name="BalaramAmbaji2016">{{cite web |url=http://gujenvfor.gswan.gov.in/wildlife/national-park/wildlife-balaram.htm |title=Balaram Ambaji Wild Life Sanctuary |publisher= Forests & Environment Department |access-date=8 February 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160120214309/http://gujenvfor.gswan.gov.in/wildlife/national-park/wildlife-balaram.htm |archive-date=20 January 2016 }}</ref>

== Distribution and habitat==
[[File:Striped Hyena Adult.jpg|thumb|A wild individual at [[Blackbuck National Park, Velavadar]], [[Gujarat]] state, India]]
The striped hyena's historical range encompassed [[Africa]] north of and including the [[Sahel]] zone, eastern Africa south into [[Tanzania]], the [[Arabian Peninsula]] and the [[Middle East]] up to the [[Mediterranean Sea]], [[Turkey]], [[Iraq]], the [[Caucasus]] ([[Azerbaijan]], [[Armenia]], [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]]), [[Iran]], [[Turkmenistan]], [[Uzbekistan]], [[Tajikistan]], [[Afghanistan]] (excluding the higher areas of [[Hindukush]]), and the [[Indian subcontinent]]. Today the species' distribution is patchy in most ranges, thus indicating that it occurs in many isolated populations, particularly in most of west Africa, most of the Sahara, parts of the Middle East, the Caucasus, and central Asia. It does however have a continuous distribution over large areas of [[Ethiopia]], [[Kenya]], and Tanzania. Its modern distribution in [[Pakistan]], Iran, and Afghanistan is unknown with some sizable large number in [[India]] in open areas of [[Deccan Plateau]].<ref name=m44>{{Harvnb|Mills|Hofer|1998|p=44}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"
|-
! Country
! Population
! Status
! Threats/Protection
|-
|[[Afghanistan]]
|Unknown<ref name="m67">{{Harvnb|Mills|Hofer|1998|p=67}}</ref>
|[[Data deficient]]<ref name="m68">{{Harvnb|Mills|Hofer|1998|pp=68–71}}</ref>
|Striped hyenas are caught, either for [[hyena-baiting]] or for medicinal purposes<ref name="m68"/>
|-
|[[Algeria]]
|50–100<ref name="m67"/>
|[[Threatened]]<ref name="m68"/>
|Although protected by décret no. 83-509, striped hyenas are declining in Algeria due to poaching, forest fires and the disturbance of den sites<ref name="m68"/>
|-
|[[Burkina Faso]]
|100-1,000<ref name="m67"/>
|Data deficient<ref name="m68"/>
|Burkina Faso's striped hyena population is low but stable, with hunting only being permitted outside national parks and in retaliation to livestock losses<ref name="m68"/>
|-
|[[Cameroon]]
|100-1,000<ref name="m67"/>
|Data deficient<ref name="m68"/>
|Cameroon's striped hyenas are afforded no protection or special attention outside of national parks and reserves<ref name="m68"/>
|-
|[[Caucasus]] ([[Armenia]], [[Azerbaijan]], [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]])
|150–200<ref name="m67"/>
|Threatened<ref name="m68"/>
|Declining in all three countries due to hunting for fur and in retaliation to attacks on humans. Other factors include habitat loss, a reduction in large herbivore populations and changes in livestock management<ref name="m68"/>
|-
|[[Chad]]
|Unknown<ref name="m67"/>
|Data deficient<ref name="m68"/>
|
|-
|[[Egypt]]
|1,000–2,000<ref name="m67"/>
|Data deficient<ref name="m68"/>
|Striped hyenas are offered no protection outside of national parks and reserves, and are hunted and poisoned as pests. There is also a reduced availability of animal carcasses for them to feed on<ref name="m68"/>
|-
|[[Ethiopia]], [[Djibouti]], [[Eritrea]]
|Unknown<ref name="m67"/>
|[[Lower risk]] in Ethiopia and data deficient in Eritrea, with no records in Djibouti<ref name="m68"/>
|Ethiopian hyenas are specially protected under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife Conservation Amendment Regulations (1974), though they may be hunted under special permit for EtBirr 40 (equivalent to US$20) for science, education or zoology<ref name="m68"/>
|-
|[[India]]
|1,000–3,000<ref name="m67"/>
|Data deficient<ref name="m68"/>
|Although India's hyenas are protected, this is given only within conservation areas, and the population is in decline outside national parks due to poaching, competition with leopards over shelter and diminishing food stocks.<ref name="m68"/>
|-
|[[Iran]]
|Unknown<ref name="m67"/>
|Data deficient<ref name="m68"/>
|Striped hyenas are protected by law<ref name="m68"/>
|-
|[[Iraq]]
|100-1,000<ref name="m67"/>
|Threatened<ref name="m68"/>
|Iraqi hyena population is decreasing, though wildlife laws regulate their hunting<ref name="m68"/>
|-
|[[Israel]]
|100–170<ref name="m67"/>
|Threatened<ref name="m68"/>
|Although hyenas have largely recovered from the strychnine poisoning campaigns of 1918–1948, and are protected by law, the current nature reserves housing them may be too small to ensure a viable population. Road accidents are their most serious threat<ref name="m68"/>
|-
|[[Jordan]]
|Unknown<ref name="m67"/>
|Threatened<ref name="m68"/>
|Hyenas are actively hunted, as they are considered threats to human life.<ref name="m68"/>
|-
|[[Kenya]]
|1,000–2,000<ref name="m67"/>
|Lower risk<ref name="m68"/>
|Striped hyenas are likely to decrease in Kenya because of accelerated habitat destruction and poaching.<ref name="m68"/>
|-
|[[Kuwait]]
|0<ref name="m67"/>
|Probably [[extinct]]<ref name="m68"/>
|
|-
|[[Lebanon]]
|4,000-4,500<ref name="m67"/>
|low risk<ref name="m68"/>
|The striped hyena is protected by law and culture they thrive in Lebanon's rich biomes risk of extinction is low but recognition is a must
|-
|[[Libya]]
|Unknown<ref name="m67"/>
|Data deficient<ref name="m68"/>
|
|-
|[[Mali]]
|Unknown<ref name="m67"/>
|Data deficient<ref name="m68"/>
|
|-
|[[Mauritania]]
|Unknown<ref name="m67"/>
|Data deficient<ref name="m68"/>
|
|-
|[[Morocco]]
|50–500<ref name="m67"/>
|Threatened<ref name="m68"/>
|Though protected by law, the hyena population is in drastic decline, with the remaining individuals now having withdrawn to the southern mountains<ref name="m68"/>
|-
|[[Nepal]]
|10–50<ref name="m67"/>
|Data deficient<ref name="m68"/>
|Although a small population of hyenas is confirmed, it is not considered a priority for protection by the government outside of national parks and reserves<ref name="m68"/>
|-
|[[Niger]]
|100–500<ref name="m67"/>
|Threatened<ref name="m68"/>
|Declining due to officially sanctioned hunting and persecution campaigns, as well as habitat loss and overgrazing<ref name="m68"/>
|-
|[[Nigeria]]
|Unknown<ref name="m67"/>
|Threatened<ref name="m68"/>
|
|-
|[[Oman]]
|100-1,000<ref name="m67"/>
|Threatened<ref name="m68"/>
|Although not protected, striped hyenas are not officially persecuted, and are considered useful scavengers<ref name="m68"/>
|-
|[[Pakistan]]
|Unknown<ref name="m67"/>
|Data deficient<ref name="m68"/>
|''Hyaena hyaena'' is included in the [[Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora]] (CITES) Appendix III by request of Pakistan<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php|title=Appendices|website=CITES|publisher=Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora|date=21 May 2023|access-date=6 June 2023|archive-date=3 February 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070203100154/http://www.cites.org/eng/app/appendices.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|[[Saudi Arabia]]
|100-1,000<ref name="m67"/>
|Threatened<ref name="m68"/>
|Though not officially persecuted, Arabian hyenas are not offered protection outside of national parks and reserves, and are severely poached<ref name="m68"/>
|-
|[[Senegal]]
|50–100<ref name="m67"/>
|Threatened<ref name="m68"/>
|
|-
|[[Somalia]]
|Unknown<ref name="m67"/>
|Data deficient<ref name="m68"/>
|
|-
|[[Sudan]]
|Unknown<ref name="m67"/>
|Data deficient<ref name="m68"/>
|
|-
|[[Syria]]
|Unknown<ref name="m67"/>
|Data deficient<ref name="m68"/>
|
|-
|[[Tajikistan]]
|Unknown<ref name="m67"/>
|Threatened<ref name="m68"/>
|
|-
|[[Tanzania]]
|Unknown<ref name="m67"/>
|Data deficient<ref name="m68"/>
|Striped hyenas can be hunted, though they are not usually a target species. Roadkills are the most frequently recorded cause of mortality<ref name="m68"/>
|-
|[[Tunisia]]
|Unknown<ref name="m67"/>
|Data deficient<ref name="m68"/>
|
|-
|[[Turkey]]
|Small isolated populations<ref name="iberianature.com">[http://iberianature.com/wildworld/guides/wildlife-and-nature-of-turkey/striped-hyena-in-turkey/ Striped hyena in Turkey] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608075433/http://iberianature.com/wildworld/guides/wildlife-and-nature-of-turkey/striped-hyena-in-turkey/ |date=2011-06-08 }}. Iberianature.com. Retrieved on 2013-03-21.</ref>
|Threatened<ref name="lcie.org">Ö. Emre Can, Yıldıray Lise [http://www.lcie.org/Docs/Regions/Turkey/EMRE_striped_hyaena_note.pdf Striped hyena (''Hyaena hyaena'') trapped in Hatay, Turkey] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120424225954/http://www.lcie.org/Docs/Regions/Turkey/EMRE_striped_hyaena_note.pdf |date=2012-04-24 }}. WWF Turkey</ref><ref name="kasparek">{{cite journal |url=http://www.kasparek-verlag.de/PDFs/Striped%20Hyena%20Turkey.pdf |doi=10.1080/09397140.2004.10638068 |title=On the status and distribution of the Striped Hyaena, Hyaena hyaena, in Turkey |year=2004 |last1=Kasparek |first1=Max |last2=Kasparek |first2=Aygün |last3=Gözcelioğlu |first3=Bülent |last4=Çolak |first4=Ercüment |last5=Yiğit |first5=Nuri |journal=Zoology in the Middle East |volume=33 |page=93 |s2cid=84975624 |access-date=2011-09-27 |archive-date=2012-04-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120424225954/http://www.kasparek-verlag.de/PDFs/Striped%20Hyena%20Turkey.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Özgün Emre Can (October 2004) [http://www.tigerforum.de/attachments/00000000001/lciTurkey.pdf Status, Conservation and Management of Large Carnivores in Turkey] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303220832/http://www.tigerforum.de/attachments/00000000001/lciTurkey.pdf |date=2016-03-03 }}, WWF-Turkey, p. 11.</ref>
|
|-
|[[Turkmenistan]]
|100–500<ref name="m67"/>
|Threatened<ref name="m68"/>
|Declining from hunting, though listed in the Red Data Book of Turkmenia<ref name="m68"/>
|-
|[[United Arab Emirates]]
|Unknown<ref name="m67"/>
|Data defictient <ref name="m68"/>
|
|-
|[[Uzbekistan]]
|25–100<ref name="m67"/>
|Threatened<ref name="m68"/>
|Striped hyena populations have declined over decades from active hunting and habitat loss, though they are listed in the Red Data Book of Uzbekistan and are protected<ref name="m68"/>
|-
|[[Western Sahara]]
|Unknown<ref name="m67"/>
|Data deficient<ref name="m68"/>
|
|-
|[[Yemen]]
|Unknown<ref name="m67"/>
|Data deficient<ref name="m68"/>
|
|}

== In culture ==
=== In folklore, religion, and mythology ===
[[File:Hyenamosaic.jpg|thumb|A striped hyena, as depicted on the [[Nile mosaic of Palestrina]].]]
Striped hyenas are frequently referenced in Middle Eastern literature and folklore, typically as symbols of treachery and stupidity.<ref name="ABI">{{Cite thesis |last=Abi-Said |first=Mounir R. |title=Reviled as a grave-robber: the ecology and conservation of striped hyaenas in the human-dominated landscapes of Lebanon |date=2006 |degree=PhD |publisher=University of Kent (Biodiversity management) |url=https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/86346 |doi=10.22024/UNIKENT/01.02.86346}}</ref> In the Near and Middle East, striped hyenas are generally regarded as physical incarnations of [[jinn]].<ref name="magic">{{cite journal |author=Frembgen, J. W. |year=1998 |title=The Magicality of the Hyena: Beliefs and Practices in West and South Asia |journal=Asian Folklore Studies |volume=57 |issue= 2|pages=331–344 |doi=10.2307/1178757 |jstor=1178757 |url=https://asianethnology.org/downloads/ae/pdf/a1246.pdf |access-date=2022-11-23 |archive-date=2021-09-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210921163352/https://asianethnology.org/downloads/ae/pdf/a1246.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Zakariya al-Qazwini]] (1204–1283) wrote in [[Arabic]] of a tribe of people called "Hyena People." In his book ''Marvels of Creatures and the Strange Things Existing'' ({{lang|ar|عجائب المخلوقات وغرائب الموجودات}}), he wrote that should one of this tribe be in a group of 1,000 people, a hyena could pick him out and eat him.<ref name="ABI" /> A [[Persian language|Persian]] medical treatise written in 1376 tells how to cure cannibalistic people known as ''kaftar'' who are said to be "half-man, half-hyena".<ref name="magic" /> Al-Doumairy in his writings in ''Hawayan Al-Koubra'' (1406) wrote that striped hyenas were [[vampire|vampiric creatures]] that attacked people at night and sucked the blood from their necks. He also wrote that hyenas only attacked brave people. Arab folklore tells of how hyenas can mesmerize victims with their eyes or sometimes with their [[pheromone]]s.<ref name="ABI" /> Until the end of the 19th century, the [[Greeks]] believed that the bodies of [[Werewolf|werewolves]], if not destroyed, would haunt battlefields as vampiric hyenas which drank the blood of dying soldiers.<ref name="Woodward">{{Cite book |last=Woodward |first=Ian |url=https://archive.org/details/werewolfdelusion0000wood |title=The Werewolf Delusion |year=1979 |isbn=0-448-23170-0 |page=[https://archive.org/details/werewolfdelusion0000wood/page/150 150] |publisher=Paddington Press |url-access=limited}}</ref> The image of striped hyenas in [[Afghanistan]], [[India]], [[Pakistan]] and [[Palestine]] is more varied. Though feared, striped hyenas were also symbolic of love and fertility, leading to numerous varieties of love medicine derived from hyena body parts. Among the [[Baloch people]], witches or magicians are said to ride striped hyenas at night.<ref name="magic" />

The Arabic word for striped hyenas is alluded in a valley in Israel known as Shaqq al-Diba (meaning "cleft of the hyenas") and Wadi Abu Diba (meaning "valley of the hyenas"). Both places have been interpreted by some scholars as being the Biblical Valley of [[Zeboim (Hebrew Bible)|Zeboim]] mentioned in [[Books of Samuel|1 Samuel]] 13:18. The [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] word for hyena is ''tsavoa'', which literally means "colored creature" (compare {{wikt-lang|he|צבע|לִצְבֹּעַ}} ''litzboa'' "to color, to paint, to dye"). Though the [[King James Version]] of the Bible interprets this word (which appears in the [[Book of Jeremiah]] 12:9) as referring to a "speckled bird," [[Henry Baker Tristram]] argued that it was most likely a hyena being mentioned.<ref name="BOTF">{{cite book | author=Bright, Michael | title=Beasts of the Field: The Revealing Natural History of Animals in the Bible | year=2006 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/beastsoffieldrev0000brig/page/127 127–129] | publisher=Pavilion Books | isbn=1-86105-831-4 | url=https://archive.org/details/beastsoffieldrev0000brig/page/127 }}</ref>

In [[Gnosticism]], the [[Archon]] Astaphaios is depicted with a hyænid face.<ref>[http://gnosis.org/naghamm/apocjn.html The Apocryphon of John] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130211013408/http://gnosis.org/naghamm/apocjn.html |date=2013-02-11 }}. Gnosis.org. Retrieved on 2013-03-21.</ref>

=== Predation on livestock and crops ===
[[File:Striped Hyena - Dahod, Gujarat.jpg|thumb|Striped hyena scavenging on [[poultry]] waste in [[Dahod district]], [[Gujarat]], India]]
The striped hyena is sometimes implicated in the killing of [[livestock]], particularly [[goat]]s, [[sheep]], [[dog]]s and [[poultry]]. Larger stock is sometimes reportedly taken, though it is possible that these are cases of [[Scavenger|scavenging]] being mistaken for actual [[predation]]. Although most attacks occur at low densities, a substantial number reputedly occur in [[Egypt]], [[Ethiopia]], [[India]], [[Iraq]], and possibly [[Morocco]].

In [[Turkmenistan]], striped hyenas kill dogs, while they also kill sheep and other small animals in the [[Caucasus]]; there were even reports that striped hyenas have killed [[horse]]s and [[donkey]]s in Iraq during the mid-twentieth century. [[Sheep]], dogs, horses, and [[Goat|goats]] are also preyed upon in [[North Africa]], [[Israel]], [[Iran]], [[Pakistan]], and [[India]].<ref name="m23">{{Harvnb|Mills|Hofer|1998|pp=23–24}}</ref>

Striped hyenas also cause damage on occasion to [[melon]] fields and to [[date palm]]s in [[Date (fruit)|date]] plantations in Israel and Egypt, and to plantations of [[watermelon]]s and plantations of [[Honeydew (melon)|honey melon]]s in Turkmenistan.<ref name="m23"/>

=== Attacks on humans and grave desecration ===
[[File:Striped hyena shot.jpg|thumb|Engraving of a striped hyena attacking a man in ''The Naturalist's Cabinet'' (1806)]]
In ordinary circumstances, striped hyenas are extremely timid around humans, though they may show bold behaviours toward people at night.<ref name="h36"/> On rare occasions, striped hyenas have preyed on humans. In the 1880s, a hyena was reported to have attacked humans, especially sleeping children, over a three-year period in the [[Erivan Governorate]], with 25 children and 3 adults being wounded in one year. The attacks provoked local authorities into announcing a reward of 100 rubles for every hyena killed. Further attacks were reported later in some parts of [[South Caucasus|Transcaucasia]], particularly in 1908. Instances are known in [[Azerbaijan]] of striped hyenas killing children sleeping in courtyards during the 1930s and 1940s. In 1942, a guard sleeping in his hut was mauled by a hyena in Golyndzhakh. Cases of children being taken by hyenas by night are known in southeast Turkmenistan's [[Bathyz Nature Reserve]]. A further attack on a child was reported around [[Serakhs]] in 1948.<ref name="h46">{{Harvnb|Heptner|Sludskii|1992|p=46}}</ref> Several attacks have occurred in India; in 1962, nine children were thought to have been taken by hyenas in the town of [[Bhagalpur]] in the [[Bihar]] State in a six-week period<ref name="BOTF"/> and 19 children up to the age of four were killed by hyenas in [[Karnataka]] and [[Bihar]] in 1974.<ref name="m25">{{Harvnb|Mills|Hofer|1998|p=25}}</ref> A census on wild animal attacks during a five-year period in the Indian state of [[Madhya Pradesh]] showed that hyenas had only attacked three people, the lowest figure when compared to deaths caused by [[Indian wolf|wolves]], [[gaur]], [[boar]], [[Asian elephant|elephants]], [[Bengal tiger|tigers]], [[Indian leopard|leopards]], and [[sloth bear]]s.<ref name="Attacks">{{cite book|url=http://www.nina.no/archive/nina/Publikasjoner/oppdragsmelding/NINA-OM731.pdf |title=The Fear of Wolves: A Review of Wolf Attacks on Humans |publisher=Norsk Institutt for Naturforskning |author=Linnel, J.D.C. |date=January 2002 |isbn=82-426-1292-7 |access-date=2008-06-26 |display-authors=etal |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050211205659/http://www.nina.no/archive/nina/Publikasjoner/oppdragsmelding/NINA-OM731.pdf |archive-date=February 11, 2005 }}</ref>

Though attacks on live humans are rare, striped hyenas will scavenge on human corpses. In [[Turkey]], stones are placed on graves to stop hyenas digging the bodies out. In [[World War I]], the Turks imposed [[conscription]] (''safar barlek'') on [[Lebanon]]; people escaping from the conscription fled north, where many died and were subsequently eaten by hyenas.<ref name="ABI" />

=== Hunting ===
[[File:OudryHyena.jpg|thumb|''Hyena'' (1739) by [[Jean-Baptiste Oudry]].]]
Striped hyenas were hunted by [[Ancient Egypt|Ancient Egyptian]] peasants for duty and amusement along with other animals that were a threat to crops and livestock.<ref name="o431">{{Harvnb|Osborn|Helmy|1980|p=431}}</ref> [[Algerian people|Algerian]] hunters historically considered the killing of striped hyenas as beneath their dignity, due to the animal's reputation for cowardice.<ref name="standard">Kingsley, John Sterling (1884) ''The Standard Natural History, Vol. V: Mammals'', Boston: S. E. Cassino and Co.</ref> A similar attitude was held by British sportsmen in [[British India]].<ref name="p72"/> Although striped hyenas are capable of quickly killing a dog with a single bite,<ref name="johnson"/> they usually [[Apparent death|feign death]] when escape from hunting dogs is impossible, and will remain in this state for long periods, even when badly bitten.<ref name="p73">{{Harvnb|Pocock|1941|p=73}}</ref> On some rare occasions, hyenas were ridden down and speared by men on horseback. Although hyenas were generally not fast enough to outrun horses, they had the habit of doubling and turning frequently during chases, thus ensuring long pursuits. Generally though, hyenas were hunted more as pests than sporting quarries. Their scavenging damages skulls, skins and other articles from hunter's camps, which made them unpopular among sportsmen.<ref>Lydekker, Richard (1907), ''[https://archive.org/details/gameanimalsofind00lyde The game animals of India, Burma, Malaya, and Tibet]'', p. 354, London, R. Ward, limited</ref> In the [[Soviet Union]], hyena hunting was not specially organised. Most hyenas were caught incidentally in traps meant for other animals.<ref name="h45"/> Some hunters in southern [[Punjab region|Punjab]], [[Kandahar]], and [[Quetta]], catch striped hyenas to use them in [[hyena-baiting]]. The hyenas are pitted against specially trained dogs, and are restrained with ropes in order to pull them away from the dogs if necessary.<ref name="magic" /> In Kandahar, hunters locally called ''payloch'' (naked foot) hunt striped hyenas by entering their dens naked with a noose in hand. When the hyena is cornered at the end of its lair, the hunter murmurs the magic formula "turn into dust, turn into stone," which causes the animal to enter a hypnotic state of total submission, by which point the hunter can slip a noose over its forelegs and, finally, drag it out of the cave.<ref name="magic"/> A similar method was once practised by [[Mesopotamia]]n [[Arab people|Arab]] hunters, who would enter hyena dens and "flatter" the animal, which they believed could understand [[Arabic language|Arabic]]. The hunter would murmur "you are very nice and pretty and quite like a lion; indeed, you are a lion". The hyena would then allow the hunter to place a noose around its neck and pose no resistance on being dragged out of its lair.<ref name="standard" />

The fur is coarse and sparse, with the few skins sold by hunters often being marketed as poor quality dog or wolf fur. Hyena skins were however once used in preparing [[chamois leather]]. The selling price of hyena pelts in the Soviet Union ranged from 45 [[Ruble|kopeks]] to 1 ruble, 80 kopeks.<ref name="h45">{{Harvnb|Heptner|Sludskii|1992|p=45}}</ref>

=== Striped hyenas as food ===
[[File:Tomb of Mereruka, vizier of Teti, 6th dynasty, ca. 2330 BCE; Saqqara (hyenas).jpg|thumb|Relief of striped hyenas being force-fed at the tomb of [[Mereruka]]]]
A mural depicted on [[Mereruka]]'s tomb in [[Sakkara]] indicates that [[Old Kingdom]] Egyptians [[force-feeding|forcefed]] hyenas in order to fatten them up for food,<ref name="o431"/> though archaeologist Burchard Brentjes argued that the depicted animals represent an extinct population of Egyptian [[Aardwolf|aardwolves]].<ref>Brentjes, B. 1966. [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/45434859#page/332/mode/1up "Einige Bemerkungen zur Darstellung der Hyänen, Erdwölfe und Hyänenhunde in den Kulturen des Alten Orients"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220729075107/https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/45434859#page/332/mode/1up |date=2022-07-29 }}, Zeitschr. Säugetierkunde 31, 308-314.</ref> European writers in the 19th and early 20th centuries recorded that striped hyenas were eaten by some Egyptian peasants, Arabian [[Bedouin]]s, [[Palestinian people|Palestinian]] laborers, [[Sinai Peninsula|Sinai]] Bedouins, [[Tuareg people|Tuareg]]s,<ref name="o431"/> and in [[Somalia]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170103170353/http://www.somalilandpress.com/islamists-authorise-hyena-meat-in-southern-somalia/ Islamists authorise hyena meat in Southern Somalia]. ''SomalialandPress'' (12 August 2012)</ref> Among some Bedouins of Arabia at the beginning of the 20th century, hyena meat was generally considered medicine, rather than food.<ref name="magic" />

=== Striped hyenas in folk magic ===
The [[Ancient Greeks]] and [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] believed the blood, excrement, rectum, genitalia, eyes, tongue, hair, skin, and fat, as well as the ash of different parts of the striped hyena's body, were effective means to ward off evil and to ensure love and fertility. The Greeks and Romans believed that the genitalia of a hyena "would hold a couple peaceably together" and that a hyena anus worn as an amulet on the upper arm would make its male possessor irresistible to women.<ref name="magic" />

In West and South Asia, hyena body parts apparently play an important role in [[love magic]] and in the making of amulets. In Iranian folklore, it is mentioned that a stone found in the hyenas body can serve as a charm of protection for whoever wears it on his upper arm. In the Pakistani province of [[Sindh]], the local Muslims place the tooth of a striped hyena over churns in order not to lose the milk's ''[[Luck|baraka]]''. In Iran, a dried striped hyena pelt is considered a potent charm which forces all to succumb to the possessors attraction. In Afghanistan and Pakistan striped hyena hair is used either in love magic or as a charm in sickness. Hyena blood has been held in high regard in northern India as potent medicine, and the eating of the tongue helps fight [[tumor]]s. In the [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa|Khyber]] area, burned striped hyena [[fat]] is applied to a man's genitals or sometimes taken orally to ensure virility, while in India the fat serves as a cure for [[rheumatism]]. In Afghanistan, some [[mullah]]s wear the vulva (''kus'') of a female striped hyena wrapped in silk under their armpits for a week. If a man peers through the vulva at the woman of his desire, he will invariably get hold of her. This has led to the proverbial expression in [[Dari (Persian)|Dari]] of ''kus-e kaftar bay'', as well as in [[Pashto language|Pashto]] of ''kus-e kaftar'' which literally mean "it happens as smoothly as if you would look through the vulva of a female striped hyena". In the [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa|North-West Frontier Province]] and [[Balochistan (Pakistan)|Baluchistan]], the [[Pakhtun]] keep the vulva in [[vermilion]] powder, itself having aphrodesic connotations. The rectum of a freshly killed striped hyena is likewise used by [[homosexual]]s and [[bisexual]]s to attract young men. This has led to the expression "to possess the anus of a [striped] hyena" which denotes somebody who is attractive and has many lovers. A striped hyena's penis kept in a small box filled with vermilion powder can be used for the same reasons.<ref name="magic" />

=== Tameability ===
[[File:Striped hyena at Jungle Cat World 1.jpg|thumb|A [[Tame animal|tame]] striped hyena.]]
The striped hyena is easily [[Tame animal|tame]]d and can be fully [[Animal training|train]]ed, particularly when they are young. Although the Ancient Egyptians did not consider striped hyenas sacred, they did supposedly tame them for use in hunting. When they are raised with a firm hand, they may eventually become affectionate and as amenable as well-trained dogs,<ref name="o431"/><ref name="r351">{{Harvnb|Rosevear|1974|pp=351–352}}</ref> though they emit a strong odour which no amount of bathing will cover.<ref>Smith, A. Mervyn (1904), ''[https://archive.org/details/sportadventurein00smitrich Sport and adventure in the Indian jungle]'', p. 292, London : Hurst and Blackett</ref> Although they kill dogs in the wild, striped hyenas raised in captivity can form bonds with them.<ref name="p73" />

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
*{{Cite book |last1=Heptner|first1=V. G.|last2=Sludskii|first2=A. A.|url=https://archive.org/details/mammalsofsov221992gept|title=Mammals of the Soviet Union: Carnivora (hyaenas and cats), Volume 2|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Libraries and National Science Foundation|year=1992}}
*{{Cite book |last=Kurtén|first=Björn|title=Pleistocene mammals of Europe|publisher=Weidenfeld and Nicolson |year=1968}}
*{{Cite book |last1=Mills|first1=G. |last2=Hofer|first2=H. |name-list-style=amp |chapter=Striped hyaena: country accounts |pages=68–71 |chapter-url=https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/1998-013.pdf#page=76 |title=Hyaenas: status survey and conservation action plan |publisher=IUCN/SSC Hyena Specialist Group |location=Gland |year=1998 |isbn=2-8317-0442-1}}
*{{Cite book |last1=Osborn|first1=D.. J.|last2=Helmy|first2=I. |url=https://archive.org/details/contemporaryland05osbo|title=The contemporary land mammals of Egypt (including Sinai) |publisher=Field Museum of Natural History |year=1980}}
*{{Cite book |last=Pocock |first=R. I.|url=https://archive.org/details/PocockMammalia2 |title=The Fauna of British India |volume=2 Mammals |publisher=Taylor and Francis |location=London |year=1941}}
*{{Cite book |last=Rosevear|first=D. R. |url=https://archive.org/details/carnivoresofwest00rose |title=The carnivores of West Africa |publisher=Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History) |location=London |year=1974 |isbn=0-565-00723-8}}

== External links ==
*{{Wikispecies-inline|Hyaena hyaena}}
*{{Commons-inline|Hyaena hyaena}}
*Anderson, Steven C. (2004), ''[http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/hyena Hyaena hyaena]'' entry on [[Encyclopaedia Iranica]]
*[http://www.science.smith.edu/departments/Biology/VHAYSSEN/msi/pdf/i0076-3519-150-01-0001.pdf Rieger, Ingo (1981) ''Hyaena hyaena'', Mammalian Species, No. 150, pp.1–5, 3 figs. American Society of Mammalogists]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20170415002758/http://www.feelthewild.com/galleries/mammals-photography/striped-hyena/ Striped Hyena Pictures]

{{Carnivora|F.}}
{{Feliformia|Hya.|state=collapsed}}
{{Taxonbar|from1=Q188657|from2=Q1417638}}

[[Category:Hyenas]]
[[Category:Carnivorans of Africa]]
[[Category:Carnivorans of Asia]]
[[Category:Carnivorans of Europe]]
[[Category:Mammals of the Middle East]]
[[Category:Mammals of West Asia]]
[[Category:Mammals of Azerbaijan]]
[[Category:Mammals of India]]
[[Category:Mammals of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Mammals of North Africa]]
[[Category:Fauna of the Sahara]]
[[Category:Mammals of the Arabian Peninsula]]
[[Category:National symbols of Lebanon]]
[[Category:Extant Pleistocene first appearances]]
[[Category:Mammals described in 1758]]
[[Category:Animal taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]
[[Category:Apex predators]]