Notes From Kenya: MSU Hyena Research: When lions attack and kill our study hyenas

Today I would like to tell you about some lion-hyena interactions that we witnessed in the field. Both lions and hyenas are dominant carnivores in this ecosystem and they are main competitors for resources. Therefore, lions are one of the main mortality causes for spotted hyenas as they are much larger and stronger than them. However, lions sometimes attack hyenas when they are just resting at their den, even when there is no carcass or food to compete for.

The first story happened about 2 months ago. BRSL and many other hyenas were resting or nursing their cubs at the den in the evening. This den is located in an open plain, with a lugga located a few hundred meters away. That night, 2 big males lions were hiding in this lugga and decided to aggress on the hyenas. BRSL was resting in the grass away from the den, and he didn’t see the lions emerging the bushes and running towards him until the last second (see photo 1). He tried to escape but one of the lions got him (see photo 2). The second lion immediately came and both of them killed BRSL in a matter of a few seconds, with one of them biting his throat (see photo 3). Once BRSL was dead, they chased another hyena (that they hopefully didn’t catch) and they just left him here. The lions stayed around the den with their bloody mouth (see photo 4) and they eventually left. A few days later, the hyenas moved to another den.

The second story happened a few weeks later, at the new den that the hyenas chose to avoid the lions. We arrived there early in the morning (it was still dark) and a lot of hyenas were resting around the den. All the cubs were also here, 7 of them wandering and playing by the den holes. Some hyenas were quite far away and leaving the session, so we drove away for a few minutes to ID them. When we came back, 3 young male lions were digging into the den trying to catch the cubs that ran back inside. All the adults were bristle tailed and whooping and trying to chase the lions away but still keeping their distances with them. This was so scary and worrying that these lions could catch and kill the cubs that were hiding inside the den holes. Hopefully, they didn’t succeed and they eventually gave up and left.

These 2 stories happened to the same group of hyenas, but with different groups of lions that both attacked them for no reason. Stay safe hyenas!