I’ve spent a pretty impressive amount of time with hyenas in
the last 9 months, and I’ve become convinced they secretly possess an array of
superpowers. Some of these powers I admire greatly: their incredible endurance,
their intelligence and problem-solving skills, and their ability to bounce back
from illness and injury with ease.
However, I’ve found that hyenas have one superpower I’d give
just about anything for them to lose – their uncanny and unfailing ability to
prevent us from identifying them. I’ve gotten pretty good at identifying hyenas
on the fly by now (if I do say so myself), and even so there are some days I
think it’s miraculous we’re able to ID anyone at all.
Our hyenas have a variety of tricks and tactics they use to
prevent us from getting a good look at their spots, and I’d like to share some
of them with you today.
Is there even a hyena in this picture? |
Darkness – it might be unfair to pin this one on the hyenas
themselves. After all, they aren’t the ones that made it dark. But they ARE the
ones who seem to use the darkness to their best advantage, standing just out of
Maglite range in an area we can’t go offroad to see them or loping in and out
of our headlights just long enough for us to take blurry, unusable photos.
"I can see... three spots. Perfect." |
Palembang, don't you dare. |
"HURRY UP, WILDBEEST" |
Grass – here’s another trick that’s only partially their
fault. We RAs wait anxiously for the arrival of the wildebeest every year so
they’ll mow down some of the absurdly tall grass in our territories. It’s
unbelievable how much a few strands of grass can obscure the spots of a hyena,
and equally unbelievable how much time said hyena will choose to spend in tall
grass when there’s a nice patch of bare dirt not 2 feet away.
"Are we sure this is a spotted hyena?" |
Old age – it could be argued that long years of sun exposure
are to blame for the fact that old hyenas’ spots fade over time, but I prefer
to think it’s concentrated force of will intended only to spite us. Trying to
ID ancient hyenas is a special kind of frustrating, because they might be
totally clean, well-lit, and standing clear of any grass and yet still be
totally un-IDable.
Well, that's helpful. Thanks. |
Sheer contrariness – “Show me a side. Please! Please show me
your side. Oh come on! Just show me a few spots, that’s all I ask! Are you doing
this on purpose?” That’s the mantra of an RA at wit’s end trying to get a
stubborn hyena to stand at an angle displaying any spots at all. We’ve spent
ridiculous amounts of time driving in slow circles around a hyena trying to see
one of its sides, only to watch it rotate in time with us so we only ever get a
view of its butt.
"Okay, he's on your side of the car! No, he moved, he went around back. Quick, get a picture, get a picture! Ugh, he's around back again. Will you stand still?" |
They’re also not above using our tools against us. It’s many
a hyena who has spent an enjoyable 10 minutes circling the car so we never get
a good solid view of its side.
With all their wily ways, it’s no wonder we all breath a
sigh of relief when we come across a hyena, mud-free, in short grass and with
beautifully well-defined spots. It still takes a lot of work to study spot
patterns and ear damage, but at least we stand a chance against the hyenas' stubborn, magical powers.
1 comment:
Its so frustrating looking at those pictures even from here in the US! Keep up the good work.
-Heidi
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