Hyena mothers

After nearly a year in the field, I’ve been asked plenty of questions about why on earth I chose spotted hyenas to study (and love). While the reasons why spotted hyenas are absolutely wonderful in every sense of the word are aplenty, my go to answer is always “I love spotted hyenas because spotted hyenas are intense mothers.” I have yet to find a person who isn’t surprised by that answer or that fun tidbit about hyena behavior – and it’s true, spotted hyenas are intense mothers!

Hyena cubs, while they’re born coming into the world fully armed and ready to fight, are heavily dependent on their mothers for the first few years of their life. Their mothers are of course their first food source, but they’re also responsible for introducing them into hyena society, stepping in (and acting as a security blanket) for them when cub play gets too aggressive, showing them the lay of the clan territory, and securing a spot for them at carcasses as the cub(s) begin to enter their den graduation period. This long period of heavy maternal intervention (compared to other mammals) is hypothesized to exist in spotted hyenas because of their feeding ecology and the time it takes for the skull of young hyenas to fully develop. Without a fully developed skull – and without help from mother – it would likely be next to impossible for a young hyena to survive past it’s weaning. Thus, if a mother wants her offspring to survive and in turn increasing her own fitness, it’s pertinent that she’s a good mother.

Meet some of our wonderful mothers from the Talek study clans!

This is LYCO carrying one of her newest cubs, PAFU from her natal den to the Pond clan communal den. Since their arrival at the busy den LYCO has been seen guarding the entrance to the den hole from any pesky older cubs who may want to harass her tiny little beans. During den sessions LYCO never moves further than 3 meters from the entrance to the den and is always there to lovingly greet her cubs when they decide to come out to say hi to the rest of the world.

This is PCES and her daughter LSKA. PCES is a caring mother through and through, and is often seen still spending quality time with her nearly adult daughter MISU. Whenever we stumble upon PCES and LSKA together, PCES is almost always nursing – and unlike many other mothers, won’t get up and disrupt her cub’s nursing upon our arrival. PCES encourages her daughter's curiosity and always makes sure she says hello to us when we pull up to a den session.  

Here is AQUA nursing her newest litter of cubs, ALBA and VELA, at her natal den. Being offspring of the Pond matriarch, these cubs have a privileged upbringing. AQUA is one of our most successful mothers and very rarely loses cubs. AQUA allows her cubs to investigate the world by themselves, she is very far from a helicopter mother. But she’ll always intervene if she feels things are escalating too quickly, whatever they may be, and being the matriarch, everyone around makes sure to listen.

 

HEL is a Talek legend. An old matriarch, overtaken by her daughter, and now likely acting as “queen grandmother” to the new matriarch. In addition, she’s successfully raised over 10 offspring to adulthood, and is still mothering new cubs. PITU and YUNI are her newest litter and growing up quick and strong. HEL is always around to make sure they know their ways around their territory, provides them with their own juvenile Thomson's gazelles to munch on, and ensures that at a crazy carcass session that there is more than plenty of room for her two youngest to feed.