Brown Hyena at Waterhole
Despite the amount of research that has been done, knowledge about brown hyena is still vague because it is such a shy animal. Its social structure is rather complicated and because they always forage on their own they are often mistaken for being solitary. They actually live in clans, just like spotted hyenas, but their home ranges are much larger and I read somewhere that they average of about (can you believe it?) 300 sq. km. Brown hyenas form kinship groups and some of the male and female offspring remain in the group until they reach maturity. All members bring food to the den, and what is interesting is, females don't mind suckling each other's pups. They do forage on their own and often travel up to 30 km in just one night, walking at a speed of 4 km per hour or so. I have seen brown hyenas carrying large pieces of carcass, and I am told that if the den is close enough they will go straight to it, otherwise they will hide it under a thicket until the next day. Brown Hyenas look delicate in comparison with the Spotted Hyenas but they also have strong necks and jaws that allow them to carry large prey for long distances. Females mate with nomadic males, not with clan members. They do so with more than one male. Mothers give birth away from the clan and bring the young to the communal den after three months, they are very caring towards the young but once the pups are introduced to the rest of the clan her duties are shared by all members.
Hope the intro wasn't too boring, just thought I'd sum up a few interesting things about the species for some of you who would like to know. About the image: my companion and I found this particular Brown Hyena one morning at a waterhole in the Kalahari. The sighting was brief. Despite our efforts to approach the waterhole as quiet as possible she departed as soon as we arrived. Perhaps she just finished drinking, because she did not seem in a hurry or stressed by our presence. She even stopped briefly to mark the territory, dragging her anal sac over a blade of grass nearby. I suggested we return the next morning but a bit earlier, which we did. Waited a while, and just as my companion was about to tell me this might have been a fruitless exercise our Brownie arrived, only ten minutes later than the previous day. I was so happy, had so much hope and belief that she would return. My previous encounters with the species taught me they are creatures of habit, so her return just before 6 am filled me with joy. She came fairly close and allowed us to photograph her while drinking, the sun was rising over a nearby dune and light was gentle and beautiful. You will tell me I should have picked up the 300mm lens when she got closer, but I was holding my breath and not moving so that she won't get a fright and walk away. We even waited for her to quench her thirst a bit, before we pressed the shutter.
So the frame is rather tight, unfortunately... Anyway, techs as follows:
Nikon D5
Nikon 500 F4
ISO 3200 (like I said, sun was coming up but light was still soft)
F8
1/1600s
Hope you enjoy this image, it is not perfect by all means but such precious a sighting, I could not wait to share it with you. Don't be shy to critique or do RP's. And I have more in my folders if you like this one. Many thanks for viewing and for taking the time to read my long intro, much appreciated
Have a super weekend!
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Originally Posted by Steve Kaluski
