Female Dominance in Spotted Hyenas
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alright, buckle up y’all, Spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) have a rare social form of social hierarchy where females are dominant to all males. Young hyenas enter into the social hierarchy directly below their mothers. Males enter the hierarchy at the bottom and climb as they age. Males tend to have little male-male competition and fairly stable hierarchies. Overall hyenas are social animals and live in clans with an average of 20 members, though clan size can range from 6 - 130 individuals. They spend much of their time alone or in small subgroups, but defend territory, raise young and occasionally hunt communally. What really makes spotted hyenas unique however are the females. Female hyenas are larger and more aggressive than their male counterparts (they also have a psudeopensis but well save that for another time). Female dominance likely began due to intense feeding competition and the dependence of their offspring. At times up to eight adults will compete for a single ungulate corpse.
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Larger females are better able to the food crucial for their offspring who are unable to feed themselves until late adolescence. Hyena pup's jaws do not develop fully until close to adulthood do to the thickness of their skulls and the power required to crack and consume the bones of large animals. Thus mothers must secure much of their offspring's food during development.
