 Explore our wide variety of animal facts and learn some fun trivia about our friends in the animal kingdom.
 Fun Hyena Facts for Kids
Check out our range of fun hyena facts for kids. Learn about different species, what they look like, where they live, what they eat and much more. Read on for all kinds of interesting information about hyenas! | | |
- There are four species of hyena: the spotted hyena, the striped hyena, the brown hyena, and the aardwolf.
- All four species can be found in Africa, while the striped hyena can also be found in parts of the Middle East, Asia, and Europe.
- Hyenas have stocky builds that slope downward due to their short back legs.
- Hyenas are generally nocturnal, meaning they are most active at night.
- Spotted hyena have a wide vocal range and are sometimes called laughing hyena due to their recognisable laughing sounds.
- Spotted hyena are hunters that can chase prey for long distances, sometimes reaching speeds up to 60 kph (37 mph). They are also known to scavenge, capable of eating all parts of a kill, including bones.
- Spotted hyena featured heavily in the Disney movie “The Lion King” and often portrayed unfairly as nasty, unintelligent animals.
- Stripped hyena are smaller than spotted and brown hyena and are largely scavengers, feeding on the carcasses of other animals. They are also capable of hunting their own prey and will do so at times.
- The population of striped hyena is believed to be under 10,000, and they are seen as a near-threatened species.
- Stripped hyena live for around 12 years in the wild.
- Brown hyena are found in Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
- Brown hyena are rarer than other species, with an estimated population between 4,000 and 10,000.
- Brown hyena are not great hunters and instead rely on scavenging.
- Aardwolf are a unique species of hyena that eat insects rather than larger animals. They especially like termites, using their sticky tongue to eat thousands of them every night.
- Aardwolf are the smallest species of hyena.
- Aardwolf have black stripes and a bushy tail with a black tip.
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