The Brown Hyena: A Researcher’s Insights

The Hyaenidae family is made up of four extant species; the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta), the brown hyena (Parahyaena brunnea), the striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena), and the aardwolf (Proteles cristata). A noteworthy but often misunderstood bunch, they are more closely related to cats than dogs.  

Among them, the brown hyena is the rarest, and the species listed as Near Threatened (NT) by the IUCN Red List. This, coupled with their nocturnal habits, means they are not often seen and are extremely secretive. Amongst the hyena family, they are the least understood.

At Wilderness, we are fortunate to have individuals like Emsie Verwey, our brown hyena researcher in Namibia, to help us learn more about these secretive animals. She has been with us for over 20 years and has been based at Wilderness Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp for the past ten.  Having spent significant time with brown hyenas, she is one of the few people who truly understands them. With Emsie’s answers to our questions, hopefully we too can start to understand them.

I started helping Dr Philip Stander of the Desert Lion Conservation Project with some of the project's logistics and data collection. In 2008 I was doing relief management at the old Hoanib Tented Camp when some staff members out on a walk told me about “two little brown things” they saw running into a hole. I could not figure out what they were talking about so Dr Philip gave me a camera trap to deploy at the hole, and the resulting photos changed my life. It was an active den with two little brown hyena cubs. With time I could identify their mother as well as a few other hyenas from the camera trap photos. Dr Philip collared the breeding female and this is how my love for brown hyenas and my research started.

I lived in ignorance until I got to know them better, starting with my observations at the den site. The more I learnt about them the more I realised how smart, resilient and resourceful they are. I gained the utmost respect for them and what they go through to survive as scavengers. Since most people don’t get the opportunity and privilege to get to know them as I have, I’ve made it my mission to spread the word and speak for them.

As predominantly scavengers with a varied diet of insects, rodents, eggs, reptiles and carrion, brown hyenas are in a league of their own. They have a powerful bite force that makes them excellent bone crushers. They get maximum energy from the bones that they digest completely. They curb the spread of disease and recycle back into our environment. They cover large distances in search of food and need very little water.

I admire the distances they walk to find food, how dedicated they are to raising cubs in difficult conditions, and how tough they are. I admire how they recover from injuries, how loving and social they actually are, and, after a few humiliating defeats, how smart and resourceful they can be.

Brown hyenas are important as cleaners, recyclers and nutrient transferrers across ecological systems. They also curb the spread of disease – so – an essential service provider!

We still know very little about brown hyenas compared to other carnivores. Brown hyenas are difficult to study and they tend to be “out of sight, out of mind”. The more we learn from brown hyena research the better we can assist policymakers and the public in their decision-making and attitude. The responsibility is in our hands.

I have had many wonderful moments with brown hyenas over the years. One of the most memorable has been with a male hyena called Bolt:

Bolt belonged to the Coastal Clan and I could follow him quite closely, and I have spent many hours walking with him, documenting what he does. I once did a full moon walk on a quiet windless night – very rare for the Skeleton Coast. I went out after dark and found him where I left him that morning. He was still asleep for two more hours. Once he woke up, he became aware of me and walked towards me, then lay down not far from me for about 20 minutes before walking off into the quiet, clear, moonlit desert, with me following. I will never forget Bolt and this night with him.

There is more to the quiet, shy and solitary ones among us. Take the time to get to know them, they might surprise you! Doesn’t matter if you are human or hyena. We all thrive when we are loved, included and well looked after by our clans – whomever that might be.