Twister grows up

Hello all!  My name is Tracy Montgomery, and I was a research assistant in Talek Camp three years ago.  Now I’m lucky enough to be back as a graduate student!  I study hormones and behavior in spotted hyenas and am especially interested in dispersing males and what allows them to be successful.

Many of the hyenas I knew back then have disappeared, dispersed, or died, but many are still here, eating and sleeping with the rest of Talek clan.  The biggest (and best!) surprise for me was seeing Twister, who was an aggressive little black cub when I left, sacked out by the den nursing her own small cubs.

At three months old, Twister was already aggressing on older cubs
at the communal den.
Photo by Aurelia DeNasha

Twister sacked out against her older sister, Parcheesi, in late 2011.
Photo by Eli Strauss

Twister, now a mom, with her two small cubs, Pisces and Taurus.
Twister is seen here aggressing on an older cub at the communal den,
likely in defense of her own cubs.
Photo by Hadley Couraud