Page 87 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - South Africa

FIELD GUIDE  85

African Wild Dog
Species: Lycaon pictus • Best Seen: Kruger, Hluhluwe-
Imfolozi, Madikwe
EN
Africa’s largest canid, also known as the
hunting or painted dog, is small compared with
a Eurasian wolf, and is distinguished from similar
species in the region by its black, brown and
The blotchy brown coat of the spotted hyena cream coat. It typically lives in packs of
five to 50 animals that hunt cooperatively,
Spotted Hyena literally tearing apart prey on the run. Once so
Species: Crocuta crocuta • Best Seen: Kruger, Sabi Sands, common that it was treated as vermin, it has
Pilanesberg suffered enormous losses in recent decades,
LC partly through direct persecution and partly
through the packs’ susceptibility to infectious
Africa’s second-largest predator after the lion diseases spread by domestic and feral dogs.
stands 1 m (3 ft) high at the shoulder, and weighs It is now Africa’s second-most endangered
about 70 kg (150 lb), with females being larger large carnivore, with a total wild population of
than males. The most common and conspicuous around 5,000. Of these, around 10 per cent are
large predator in many reserves, it is most often found in South Africa, mostly in the vicinity of
seen at dusk and dawn. Though highly vocal at the Kruger National Park, and a small number
night, its famous “laugh” is less commonly heard are resident within Hluhluwe-Imfolozi. It is
than its haunted whoooo-whoop that ranks as legendarily nomadic, however, and might turn
perhaps the definitive sound of the African night. up in absolutely any bush habitat.
The hyena has a complex social structure, living
in wide-ranging clans of five to 25 animals that
follow a strict matriarchal hierarchy and perform
an elaborate ritual when two members meet.
Powerfully built, it has a characteristic sloping
back, bone-crushingly powerful jaws and a dog-
like face and snout. Routinely portrayed as a
giggling coward whose livelihood depends on
scavenging from the noble big cats, it is actually
an adept hunter, capable of killing an animal as
large as a wildebeest. African wild dog packs may include up to 50 animals

Brown Hyena
Species: Hyaena hyaena • Best Seen: Pilanesberg,
Kgalagadi, Madikwe
VU
Endemic to the dry west of southern Africa,
the brown hyena is a more solitary creature
than its spotted counterpart, and a more
The aardwolf is jackal-sized but hyena-shaped dedicated scavenger, though it will hunt
opportunistically. It is relatively lightly built,
Aardwolf seldom weighing more than 50 kg (110 lb), and
Species: Proteles cristatus • Best Seen: Pilanesberg, has a pale mane and shaggy dark brown coat
Madikwe, Kgalagadi offset by creamy vertical stripes on its side and
LC flanks. It is the world’s rarest hyena, and is likely
to be seen only on night drives.
A lightly built and strictly nocturnal Hyaenid,
the aardwolf (which literally means “earth wolf”)
weighs 10 kg (22 lb) and is often mistaken for
a jackal, from which, however, it differs in
appearance by having a soft creamy striped
coat and prominent dorsal mane. It is
exclusively insectivorous, feeding almost
entirely on two specific termite genera, and its
distribution, generally in drier areas, is linked
strongly to the presence of suitable nests, into
which it burrows nose-first to feed. Brown hyena, more solitary than its spotted namesake
Key to Field Guide icons see p72

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