A fierce hunting battle on the African grasslands, in which the enemy is strong and we are weak, is taking place again... A group of spotted hyenas are surrounding a buffalo, constantly harassing, biting and attacking it. And biting its anus...exposed the predatory nature and cruelty of nature.
But at the same time, it is also strange. The buffalo obviously has brute strength. Why does it allow the spotted hyena to bite it without fighting back or running away, but just stays in place?
Not only for this buffalo, spotted hyenas also like to use the method of "digging out the anus" when hunting other mammals. Obviously lions and cheetahs like to choke their prey, so why do spotted hyenas prefer "digging out the anus"? What about "anus"?
"Anal Digging Master"
Just kidding, after all, my name as "Anal Digging Brother" is not for nothing. With its skilled "anus-digging" skills, the spotted hyena has become the out-and-out director of the anorectal department on the grassland, and is the "anal-digging master" that makes all prey fearful.
Spotted hyena , although the name contains "dog", it is not a dog, but its behavior is really "dog". It does not belong to the canine family, nor to the cat family, but to the hyena subfamily. The reason why they are named "spotted hyena" or "spotted hyena" is because their brown fur has obvious brown spots on it, making it easy to identify.
At the same time, spotted hyena is also the largest, most ferocious and most aggressive of all hyenas ( striped hyena, brown hyena, hyena). They are numerous and widely distributed in tropical and subtropical grassland areas south of the Sahara Desert , as well as semi-desert areas. Of course, with its skilled anal digging skills, the spotted hyena once became the most famous hyena in the hyena world.
The two semi-oval ears are paired with a grinning "smiling face" and a snarl at the corner of the mouth. In addition, it is also known as the "laughing hyena" because they will emit the sharp and harsh "gurgling" from time to time. The laughter was treacherous, sinister, and creepy.
As one of the most skilled "hunters" on the African grasslands, their aggression and hunting skills are not inferior to those of lions and cheetahs, but lions are considered noble and kingly, while cheetahs are elegant and swift. of. But what about spotted hyenas?
Regardless of the spotted hyenaâs appearance or its living habits, it is difficult to associate it with words such as mighty, domineering, elegant and beautiful. He always gives people the impression of being cunning, vicious and ugly. He is a wretched scavenger who likes to eat carrion and is also a lurker in the cemetery. He inspires fear, disgust and contempt.
Africa's "Second Brother"
But these do not prevent it from becoming a "savvy" predator with efficient teamwork capabilities. Africa's "Second Brother" ( The second largest carnivore in Africa after the lion )âs status has always been difficult to shake.
For cats, they almost all rely on chokeholds to hunt animals, defeating the enemy with one move and biting them to death. So why do ferocious spotted hyenas have to rely on "anal digging" to hunt? Why do spotted hyenas like to dig their anuses so much? It's unique and weird.
I have to say that hyenas choose to "dig out their anus", which is actually a very wise approach , because in addition to the neck and throat, the anus is also a relatively vulnerable part of the mammal body . Obviously, spotted hyenas are also deeply Know this. Moreover, the animal's anus is located a little below its buttocks, and the spotted hyena can reach it almost as soon as it raises its head.
Secondly, the reasons for body structure. Although the spotted hyenaâs front legs are very strong, its hind legs are not strong and relatively short. The lack of hind leg strength also destined it to be unable to have excellent jumping ability, and it cannot pounce directly on its prey like lions and cheetahs. Attack and bite.
In addition, is not big enough, and the height is a flaw for .After lions bite their prey, they usually take advantage of their own body weight to completely drag the prey down and fall to the ground. However, the spotted hyena's weight of 0-86 kilograms is not enough to support it in doing so. If we talk about other large predators, He is tall, rich and handsome, but the spotted hyena is really short and poor.
Therefore, if a spotted hyena wants to hunt large herbivores such as buffalo, wildebeest, or even rhinoceros that are larger than itself, it cannot follow the hunting methods of lions, but must find another way.
Grassland "gangster", team fighting
The creator seems to be fair. Even though the spotted hyena lacks jumping ability, it still has advantages in other aspects.
First, it is good at running. It can run at a speed of 40-50 kilometers per hour. At its fastest, it will chase its prey over long distances at a speed of up to 60 kilometers per hour. It also has strong endurance and often chases its prey to exhaustion.
Second, it has amazing biting power. A pointed mouth full of sharp and thick conical molars , combined with the powerful jaws, gives the spotted hyena an amazing bite force, allowing it to easily tear off the skin and flesh of its prey and completely crush the bones.
also chewed it with gusto, and it was crunchy. After chewing it, he sucked the marrow from the bones, so there was no waste of food at all.
Third, understand teamwork and are the grassland "gangster" . The spotted hyena group is large and has many members. A small group has 5 members, and a large group can even have 90 members.
Spotted hyenas of the same group rarely fight with each other. At most, they just talk and quarrel, and that's it. But their true unity and cohesion is reflected in collective hunting.
They use their endurance to engage in a war of attrition against their prey. Instead of launching an attack, they pursue it over long distances to consume the prey's physical strength. If I don't kill you first, I will wear you to death.
Then, adopt the method of guerrilla warfare , and divide the troops into multiple ways to chase and intercept the prey, conduct sneak attacks on the prey from multiple angles, harass the prey, move flexibly, adapt to changes, you retreat and I advance, you are weak and I attack.
So after such rounds of attrition and wheel battles, the prey will eventually be exhausted by the spotted hyena due to exhaustion of energy and physical strength. When the prey finally can no longer run, the real moment of hunting is to eat meat. The carnival has just arrived.
A group of hungry spotted hyenas, their eyes gleaming, began to bite the prey crazily, attacking its weak anus, tearing open its fur, tearing its flesh and blood, attacking again and again, intensifying every time. Deepen the wounds on the prey, accelerate their bleeding speed, and make them completely unable to resist.
Finally, they swarmed up and completely carved up the prey's body, leaving only a bloodstain on the ground.
Why donât animals resist?
Since spotted hyenas are so powerful in combat, why do the prey just stay put and let the spotted hyenas bite them without resisting or running away when their anuses are dug out? There are two main reasons.
, are exhausted . Generally, when entering the real "anal digging" stage, it is already the last moment of the duel between the two sides. Under the previous rounds of attacks, the prey at this time is already exhausted and does not have enough energy and energy. They use their physical strength to resist, so itâs not that they donât want to run, itâs that they canât run anymore, so you can just âsharkâ them.
2, The pain is unbearable . It is extremely painful to have the anus dug out alive by a spotted hyena. The prey has already been numbed by the pain and has lost consciousness. They can only stay in place and take action to fight back at this time. It only worsens the pain.
Because the anus is still connected to other internal organs, if they struggle desperately and move forward at this time, their own internal organs will be pulled out by the spotted hyena. This will undoubtedly accelerate their own death, so they can only choose not to move. They helplessly let out painful, desperate wails to relieve the pain, because they already know that they are bound to die.
