I'm Still Here!

Hi everyone!

I apologize for the long silence--I know that a new post was supposed to come out weeks ago! Currently at this time I have a lot going on at school (California state testing is in a couple of weeks--yikes!) and I have a very heavy extra curricular workload, so unfortunately I haven't been able to update as often as I had hoped. However, the next post is being worked on (slow progress, but growing!) It will be about the Arctic Hare, and I am very excited to share it with you all! I sincerely hope that I will be able to post it very soon!

Thank you for not losing faith in me,

~Cheri :)

Sea Bear

Should we start this month's theme in the Arctic or Antarctic? Hmm.... let's start with the Arctic. Which animal? Let's go with something classic, like..... the POLAR BEAR!!

Polar Bear

Courtesy: Polar Bears International

Classification: Mammal
Size: 7.5-8.42 ft / 2.28-2.63 m (I wouldn't mess with them if I were you!)

Weight: 900-1600 lb / 410-720 kg
Diet: Carnivorous
Lifespan: 25-30 (in the wild)
Appearance: White fur, small ears, small tail, large body
Status: 
Vulnerable! Due to global warming, the polar ice caps are slowly starting to melt--causing them to slowly lose their home habitat. 
"Fun" Fact: Due to the melting polar ice caps, some polar bears are forced to move so south that some polar bears have mated with grizzly bears in North America, creating a subspecies crossbreed called "grolar bear."

Etymology
Different people across the world will have different names for this fascinating creature, so I thought it'd be interesting to tell you all about the polar bear's other names.

Native Inuits of Alaska call the polar bear "Nanuq," which means a great animal deserving lots of respect. When used in poetry, they are referred to as "Pihoqahiak," which means "the ever-wandering one." Considering the amount of traveling polar bears do across floating ice sheets in the Arctic, (hundreds and hundreds of miles each year!) I can see where the name comes from.

Russians call polar bears "Beliy Medved," which means "white bear." Norwegians and the Danish call polar bears "Isbjorn," which means "ice bear." Americans call this animal, well, polar bear. But the scientific name for polar bear is actually Ursus maritimus, which means "sea bear." Some other names for polar bears (not necessarily from the American culture) include "Lord of the Arctic," "Old Man in the Fur Cloak," and "White Sea Deer."

Courtesy: Polar Bears International

Life in the Arctic
The Arctic can get very cold during the winter, so polar bears have developed a long list of adaptations to help them survive. I will go over a few.

Polar bears have a thick layer of fat, which provides them with insulation when the weather gets cold. The bottoms of paws covered with fur, which help the polar have better grip and not slip on ice sheets. Their paws are also very large, which help with swimming and burrowing dens in the snow. Also, their skin underneath the fur is actually black! The color black absorbs heat more than any other color, so polar bears use this to maximize the amount of heat and sunlight they absorb. Very large paws. Due to their big size and weight, polar bears can easily overheat their bodies if they use too much energy at one. This is why they choose to walk at a slow and moderate speed most of the time. Beware though! They will and can run mighty fast if provoked!

Evolution has done its fair share of preparing polar bears for life in the Arctic. According to Polar Bears International, polar bears are descended from the common brown bear, and may have split into their own species around 350,000 to 6 million years ago! Since then, polar bears have gone under many adaptations to life in the Arctic, such as learning to swim long distances in the icy cold waters, and most importantly, consuming a "fat-rich diet" without causing any damage to their heart or blood vessels.

Food and Hunting

Courtesy: Polar Bears International

Polar bears mainly eat seals, and hunt them down by stalking cracks in the ice where the seals may come up to breathe or looking by water holes. Sometimes, they will dive into the water or under the ice to chase down these seals themselves. Recently, scientists in Norway have just discovered some polar bears diving off the coast to forage for kelp. The polar bear's high endurance and metabolism can allow it to swim for many miles and days without rest or food to look for more solid ice or food sources.

Declining Population

Courtesy: Polar Bears International

In the later half of the 1900's, sport hunting was a major cause for population decline in polar bears. Fortunately, the issue was soon stopped when Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia, and the United States came together on November 15, 1973 to sign the 1973 Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears.

However, the polar bears now face a new threat: melting polar ice caps. And of course, this occurring is indirectly caused by our mistakes, as humans. Greenhouse gases and global warming are the main reasons responsible for melting the ice caps, but deforestation also plays a role. With the ice sheets melting, polar bears are losing their habitat. They are forced to swim for days longer to find solid ice or land, and younger or unhealthy cubs are unable to hold out for so long. According to Polar Bears International, scientists tracked a mother polar bear who swam for over nine days, 463 miles in the ocean, before she was able to find a place to rest. Along the way, she had lost her own cub and 22% of her body fat. Read here for more information.

With your help, though, polar bears can slowly start to regain their home territory. Try to reduce your carbon footprint and recycle as much as possible to reduce pollution. Walk or bike to close places instead of driving a gasoline-run car. If pollution does not stop, the polar bears will continue to lose their habitat. I would hate to see these beautiful animals go extinct!

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I sincerely hoped you enjoyed the first informative post of the Antarctic/Arctic theme, and I will see you next weekend! (The topic will be released then)

~Cheri

Sources:

http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/about-polar-bears

Introducing the February-March Theme!

Hello everyone! I apologize for the long silence and not updating for a long time--however, I am back with the February-March theme ready to share with you all! I am very excited for this month's theme, and hopefully I will be able to post something every one to two weeks now. Without further ado, let me introduce WeForWidlife's next theme...

Courtesy: Arctic & Antarctic Collection

~Arctic & Antarctic~

Over the course of the next few weeks or months, I will be discussing the animals of the Arctic and Antarctic. Call it the North and South Pole if you want--I like both names :) I will pick a few animals from each list to write about:

Arctic Tundra

• Polar bear
• Arctic fox
• Arctic hare
• Narwhal
• Snowy Owl
• Caribou/Reindeer
• Puffins (Atlantic)
• Harp seal

Antarctic

• Penguins (different subspecies)
• Whales (different subspecies)
• Seals (different subspecies)
• Orca (also known as Killer Whale)
• Krill

Have an animal in mind but don't see it on this list? Don't worry! Just email me here or go to the Contact tab to request your animal.

If you are confused to which area the "Arctic Tundra" and "Antarctic" covers, let me clear that up for you. When I refer to the Arctic Tundra, I will always mean the northern portion of North America, Europe, Asia, and all other continents (that I forgot to list) in the Northern hemisphere close to the North pole. Here is a visual to help:

Courtesy: Athropolis

All the land within the circle (that is not blurred out) is the "Arctic" area I will be covering. The Antarctic, on the other hand, is a bit different. Antarctica is much larger, so all the animals I'm covering from Antarctica will only be from the continent (with the exception of marine animals that annually migrate to different locations). Again, a visual to help:

Courtesy: World Sites Atlas

The Antarctic animals I will be blogging about will come from only Antarctica--except for the marine animals, such as whales, which annually migrate to other places.

I am excited to announce the third WeForWildlife theme--I hope you all have lots of fun reading about these beautiful creatures. I know I will!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

I know this post is shorter than usual, but guess what? Tomorrow, February 15, is President's Day, a holiday! That means no school for me, my sibling, my friends, or anyone that is still in school! That also means I have a whole entire day to work on the first post about animals of the Arctic/Antarctic theme! Yippee! I'm going to try to put up a post by tomorrow night, Pacific Time! 

I can't wait to see you next time,

~Cheri

QUICK NOTIFICATION

Hi all!

If you were wondering why my blog hasn't been updated, I am terribly sorry for the silence. I am currently working on the next post (the February-March theme!) but I wanted to let you all know that I am still alive, this blog is still going, and I will make sure that this next post will be published by the end of this weekend!

I thank you very much for your patience,
~Cheri

African Migration ~ Wrap Up ~ Part 2

Happy New Year! It's 2016, and I have some resolutions to share with you. Also, since my family spent Winter Break in Hawaii this year, I have a WeForWildlife TRAVEL SPECIAL to share with you guys soon! But first, I will present to you all the final and long overdue African Migration Wrap Post: Part 2.

In the last post, I shared with you the main highlights of the Migration during each month of the year. Today, I will inform you of the best places to stay or go to ensure the most exciting views of the Migration!

Let's jump right into it shall we?

January-April: 

From January all the way through April, the wildebeest and other Migration animals will be present in the Serengeti Plains, so depending on which specific area in the Serengeti you wish to visit, I would recommend different lodges and camps (There aren't really big commercial hotels in the middle of Africa like you would see in Las Vegas).

In January, most of the action takes place in Tanzania, so if you are going at that time, the Asilia safari camp in Namiri Plains would be a place to consider to stay. According to the UK Telegraph Travel, The Namiri Plains was closed off to public for 20 years in an effort to bring back the cheetah population, but they have reopened again last year. Due to its cutoff from human traffic for so long, if you decide to go anytime in the next couple of years, the camp will still seem more "wild" and natural than commercialized.

Courtesy: Asilia Namiri Plains

At the Asilia camp you will be able to see a wide variety of animals, which include: lions, cheetahs, leopards, wildebeest, buffalo, and hyenas. If you are lucky, you might see some black rhinos, aardwolf, and ground pangolins as well. Your chances of seeing more active animals are higher if you go on a safari in the early morning or late afternoons. 

Asilia is not the only camp you can stay at. Serengeti Under the Canvas and Olakira Camp are "mobile tented camps" that follow the Migration. In other words, unlike the Asilia, they are always moving and there is no set "location" for where their camp is. Where the animals are, that's where these mobile camps are.

There are pros and cons to all of these options. Stationary camps like Asilia do not follow the wildebeest and other animals which are constantly on the move, so you are only guaranteed seeing lots of migrating animals when they are in the Serengeti/Namiri Plains area (January-April). However, the Asilia camp area is still very natural and animals are still comfortable wandering in this area--meaning you will see a greater variety of animals (you will probably see some more predators than grazers). 

Courtesy: Asilia Namiri Plains

Mobile camps like Under the Canvas and Olakira follow the movement of the animals, so you will pretty much always see animals in action, but they focus on the migration of wildebeest and zebras and other grazers--so the variety of animals (rare predators in particular) you will see are slightly less than the variety of animals that will wander around the Namiri Plains area during January through April.

May-July

From May to August, the wildebeest and other animals will be crossing rivers, so you should stay in the Central and Western Serengeti area. In my opinion, this is the most action-packed period of time the whole entire year! There aren't a whole of of options for where to stay in this area, since the river-crossings can get rather wild. The Serengeti Migration Camp is centrally located, however, so this might be a place for you to consider. 

The Serengeti Migration Camp is located close to the Grumeti river, so you will be able to see wildebeest and zebras crossing rivers, hippos, and even some crocodiles. You will also be able to see herds of elephants, giraffe, and beautiful lions prowling in the area in search of prey. Here is a complete list of the wildlife you will be able to see in the Serengeti area around the camp:

Click on the picture to enlarge Courtesy: Elewana Collection

August-October

During this time of year all the animals have followed the rains to the Masai Mara region. However, this region is "government property," officially called the Masai Mara National Reserve. You will have to present your passport in order to enter this area.

There are two great options when staying in the Masai Mara, and which one you choose will depend on your personal preference. If you prefer a more commercialized hotel to stay in, consider the Mara Serena Safari Lodge. If you would like a more wild experience that is closer to nature, consider Governor's Camp. 

Mara Serena Safari Lodge is a hotel and a more commercialized place to stay (it even has Wifi, a conference room, and a buffet!). They also offer safaris and game drives, as well as a special "Gorilla Safari" which you can book in advance. See their website for pricing and booking details.

Mara Serena Safari Lodge lobby Courtesy: Mara Serena Safari Lodge

Governor's Camp is more of a traditional safari camp, with tents and campfires...the like. During the months August through October, you will be able to see thousands of wildebeest and zebras (and many other animals) grazing on the plains, and due to this camp's excellent location, you will be in the center of all the action. Governor's Camp offers safaris as well, which you will also have to book in advance to guarantee a spot. Visit their website for more details on safaris, pricing, and activities.

Governor's Camp picnic table Courtesy: Governor's Camp

Some pros and cons to each of these places to stay: Mara Serena Safari Lodge is a cleaner and more commercialized to stay. They will have many amenities that will make your life there a lot easier and much like your normal business-trip hotel stay. However, because this hotel is so "developed," the experience will not be so "safari-like" for you. This pricing (as I would imagine and you would see on their website) is would also be more expensive because of all the services they offer in such a remote place. 

Governor's Camp is a more natural camp, making your trip a lot more "wild," but that means there is no maid to vacuum your room every day, refold the bathroom towels, and arrange the shampoo bottles in pretty positions. Although there will most likely be workers who will make your bed during the day, there is not much for them to be done regarding hygiene. Staying clean is up to you. The experience of your trip will be a lot closer to wildlife and nature, though. 

November-December

This is the trickiest time of year to find the center of all the action, because the animals are on their way back to the Serengeti, meaning they are all scattered and are not all concentrated in on particular area. Refer back to my last post, African Migration Wrap Up Part 1, for all the areas where you will be able to see most of the animals. I would recommend you stay with a mobile safari camp at this time of year to guarantee seeing the most amount of wildlife. The mobile Serengeti Safari Camp will help lead you to the best spot for animal viewing at the right time. This safari camp moves their location once every few months based on the route the Migration animals take.

Mobile tented camps follow the movement of the animals Courtesy: Serengeti Safari Camp

Private and/or guided safaris take you up close to wildlife Courtesy: Serengeti Safari Camp

Hopefully with these tips and advice on where to stay, you will be able to plan and experience an amazing African Migration trip! 

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Remember when I said I'd share with you all a great way to help wildlife? Don't worry, I haven't broken my promise. Here it is!

For those that don't know, there is a very famous wildlife conservation organization called World Wildlife Fund (or WWF for short). WWF offers a variety of ways for you to help contribute to wildlife conservation, but of the minority of people who discover their options for helping, the majority choose to donate or contribute a portion of their own money. However, I bet not everyone may be able to toss out a hundred or few hundred dollars. That is why on World Wildlife Fund, they also give you a choice to start your own fundraiser. I know that sounds really scary and time consuming, but if you are the type who doesn't want to just donate money, and really want some hands-on work/contribution, this is the perfect opportunity for you. Plus, most of the process is already laid out for you.

Panda Nation is what they call it. (Of course, the fundings won't go just to pandas--all wildlife on this Earth will get a portion of the money you fundraise) Click here to go to their "Panda Nation" homepage.

Click on the picture to enlarge Courtesy: WWF

As you can see, they give you plenty of options for what type of fundraiser you would like to start. You can choose to fundraise money for your birthday, participating in a competition, honoring a loved one or favorite animal, starting your very own fundraiser in your class at school, or hosting your personal community fundraiser (like a bake sale or car wash) in your neighborhood.

Once you've got an idea in mind, select the type of fundraiser you would like to have and just follow their simple instructions to get started!

A quick outline of the process of starting your own fundraiser Click on the picture to enlarge Courtesy: WWF

This fundraiser is totally based on you, so you may choose to work with your family or friends as a team. If this is the case, you can choose to set up a team fundraising page. The difference between a personal fundraising page and a team fundraising page is a team page will have a main page outlining your goal as a team, but in addition, each member of your team will also have their own personal page that records the funds that they have collected. 

Through this experience, you will not only be gaining experience for fundraising, having fun, and protecting animals yourself, you will also be helping the World Wildlife Fund take one step closer to their six main goals:

Click on the picture to enlarge Courtesy: WWF

Keep in mind that if you do not feel comfortable fundraising or donating money, that is totally fine. Everyone has their own way of contributing to this world, and I'm sure you'll find yours soon. Even making the tiniest changes in your everyday life can make big differences in the long run. Reducing your time in the shower can help save water. Recycling will help protect our environment. Not wasting paper (printer, napkins, notebook paper....and even toilet paper) will help save lots of forests as well. Whichever way you choose to help animals, I wish you the best of luck in doing so!

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I really hope you enjoyed this last post of the African Migration theme. I will announce the next theme in my next post, which will either be my WeForWildlife New Years Resolutions post or my Hawaii Travel Special. I hope you have an amazing week, see you next time!

~Cheri

Sources:

http://elewanacollection.com/

http://www.governorscamp.com/gallery/governors-camp-gallery

http://www.serenahotels.com/serenamara/default-en.html

http://wwf.worldwildlife.org/site/PageServer?pagename=panda_nation_fundraising#getstarted

http://www.asiliaafrica.com/destinations/tanzania/serengeti/namiri-plains#namiri-plains-offers

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/activityandadventure/9714916/Serengetis-great-migration-Trip-of-a-Lifetime.html

African Migration ~ Wrap Up ~ Part 1

As the last post of the African Migration theme, I thought it would be nice if I gave you a briefing and some advice on African Migration safaris, in case you ever want to visit there and witness the spectacular even in person (I did the same with the previous Australian Outback theme. View my previous Outback wrap up post here) I will be splitting this post into two parts, because there is a lot that I want to share with you! Part 2 will most likely come out later this week. I am setting the deadline for before Friday!

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Let's start with timing. The African Migration is actually pretty tricky to follow if you don't know where the animals are in each month. Because they follow the rains, the wildebeest and zebra won't be staying in the same spot the whole entire year. Below is a brief summary of where the animals are in each month and what is worth viewing:

January
Place: Tanzania Serengeti, heading south
Event: Many calves and babies are being born during this time of year. Unfortunately, this also means that predators are constantly lurking around to chow down on the weaker calves. If you want to witness the circle of life, be prepared to witness the beginning and end.

Courtesy: Thomson Safaris

February
Place: Southern Serengeti, Ndutu, Ngorongoro conservation area
Event: Grazing. Nothing extremely spectacular at this point, but if you want to see the peace and calm, now would be a good time.

March
Place: Southern Serengeti, Ndutu, Ngorongoro conservation area
Event: Almost all the grass have been grazed, all the calves have been born. The herds of zebra and wildebeest that were spread out before are starting to group up again, and prepare for their long journey ahead.

Courtesy: Dailymail UK

April
Place: Southern Serengeti, Central Serengeti, West Serengeti
Event: The herds are starting to make their way north. Depending on how fast they are, some herds might already be in the central Serengeti or the west. Go2Africa suggests that you stay in the southern Serengeti plains at this time still.

May
Place: Central and Western Serengeti
Event: Lots and lots of moving! The wildebeest and zebra are constantly on the go. It is even more of a fantastic sight when all of them run together, looking like a huge funnel.

Courtesy: Africa Geographic

June
Place: Central and Western Serengeti
Event: The herds are still moving north, similar to what happens in May. Next month, they'll be crossing the rivers!

July
Place: Western Serengeti and Grumeti Reserves
Event: ALERT! ALERT! This is no doubt the most exciting event of the whole entire Migration--the herds are crossing the rivers! During this month the Migration is packed with action and it gets very intense. Crossing a river isn't that hard, but crossing a river with 5-meter-long crocodiles? Yep, that's just a teeny bit harder. A teeny bit.

Courtesy: Ultimate Africa Safaris

August
Place: Northern Serengeti, Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya** you need a passport to get in
Event: The remaining survivors of the previous month's ordeal start heading back into Kenya. No doubt the newborn are a bit shaky from the crocodiles. I wonder if they have nightmares about them.

September
Place: Northern Serengeti, Masai Mara
Event: The large herds that were traveling together are starting to split up in smaller groups, and are starting to settle down. According to Go2Africa, half of the animals will stay here.

October
Place: Masai Mara
Event: There isn't much going on, although any activity can entertain us. The herds are grazing and having a great time in the Masai Mara area.

November
Place: Back toward Serengeti (leaving Masai Mara)
Event: It has started raining toward the Serengeti, so the wildebeest and zebra (and all other animals that migrate in the Migration) lose interest in the almost completely grazed Masai and start heading back to the Serengeti.

Courtesy: Ultimate Africa Safaris

December
Place: North-eastern Serengeti, Lobo, Southern Serengeti
Event: This is really interesting. It's mating season, and more babies are made. Calves start being born. So what does that mean? The lions and predators start moving in. As Go2Africa puts it, "the wildebeest get hammered. Again."

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I hope Part 1 of this Wrap Up post helped give you a clear idea of where and what the animals are doing during each month of the Migration. In Part 2, I will give you tips on where to stay during each period of the Migration and what to keep an eye out for. 

At the end of the next post I will also share with you all a great way to help endangered species (like the Giant Panda...!) without having to pool too much (or any) of your own money. Make sure to stay tuned for the next post if you want to know how you can help! 

I'll see you next time!

~Cheri

Sources:

http://www.go2africa.com/africa-travel-blog/11704/how-the-wildebeest-migration-works

ENDANGERED SPECIES SPECIAL ~ RIP Nola

Rather than posting on a regular African Migration-themed animal this week, I would like to write a special post about a much more serious matter.

Unfortunately, this morning, Nola the Northern White Rhino at San Diego Zoo died at the age of 41. She was one of the last remaining Northern White Rhinos of this world. There were 4, and now there are only 3. Only one of them is male, and all of them are of great age.

Courtesy: YouTube (uploaded by ABC 10 News)

Rhino poaching has taken the toll of countless rhinos, and threatens to push the Northern White Rhinos to extinction. Their rhino horns are illegally poached, which some claim to be able to cure diseases and illnesses. Wildlife conservation programs around the world are trying to help bring back these species, one of which includes the San Diego Global Wildlife Conservancy (EndExtinction).

According to San Diego Zoo Safari Park's Instagram post earlier this morning, "Nola, who lived here since 1989, was under veterinary care for a bacterial infection, as well as age related health issues. In the last 24 hours, Nola's condition worsened and the animal care team made the difficult decision to euthanize here. We're absolutely devastated by this loss, but resolved to fight even harder to #EndExtinction." 

Over the past 8 years rhino poaching has worsened drastically, peaking in 2014 with a total of 1215 rhinos killed (in comparison to 13 in 2007). Thankfully, due to conservation efforts, the numbers were brought back down to 749 this year.

Chart created by me on Excel
Stats are from SaveTheRhino

Chart created by me on Excel
Stats are from SaveTheRhino

Hopefully we can decrease these numbers even more with some little more help.....from YOU! Yes, you can help! You can choose to donate money to wildlife conservation organizations like San Diego Zoo's EndExtinction program <<here>>. If you would like to try a money-free approach, please share the news of Nola's death and the plight of Northern White Rhinos on social media with #Nola4Ever and #EndExtinction. 

Fortunately, the San Diego Zoo Global Wildlife Conservancy has a plan to help the Northern White Rhinos. They are planning to use something similar to a surrogate pregnancy and have a Southern White Rhino carry the baby until birth (because none of the Northern White Rhinos are capable of bearing the weight of a baby rhino currently). To find out more, watch the video below and visit EndExtinction to learn about the Northern White Rhino's dark story. 

Courtesy: YouTube (uploaded by San Diego Zoo Safari Park)

I think we are all mourning right now of Nola's death. Although it may seem very difficult to bring back this species when there are only 3 left on this planet, remember: Their plight is on us, and we must try to make things right. Anything is possible, and we must not lose hope.

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I hope you have learned a lot about the Northern White Rhinos in this post. 

#Nola4Ever #EndExtinction

Long live Nola and the Northern White Rhinos!

~Cheri

Sources:

http://www.10news.com/news/critically-endangered-white-rhino-dies-at-san-diego-zoo-safari-park-112215

https://www.savetherhino.org/rhino_info/poaching_statistics

https://endextinction.exposure.co/the-heartless-darkness

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5SZHr3a1oc

The Animal That Can Laugh

Courtesy: Youtube, Waldemar Neto Lobo Melo do Carmo

If you've watched the Lion King or have seen pictures of this animal, you probably know what type of animal is cackling and fighting in the video clip above. That's right--the hyena! Hyenas are famous for their laughing sound they make, and are also a common scavenger found across the continent of Africa (meaning, inevitably, they also hunt animals and scavenge leftover carcasses from the Great Migration) To put in a more relatable (and harsher) way, I guess you can call them the janitors of the Migration. Except they don't mop floors. :) Today, I will be talking about the most common and well known subspecies: the spotted hyena.

Spotted Hyena

Courtesy: National Geographic

Classification: Mammal
Size: 44-73 in / 111-186 cm
Weight: 110-190 lb / 50-86 kg
Diet: Omnivore (plants & animals)~ Scavenger
Lifespan: 25 years
Appearance: Brown-beige color, rounded ears pointed at the top, dark brown spots over torso, shorter black muzzle
Status: 
Least of concern, but be careful! Infamous for killing livestock, hyenas are commonly killed by us when they come into human contact
Fun Fact: Although hyenas look like dogs, they are actually more closely related to cats!

Spotted hyenas are the largest among the other hyena subspecies (striped and brown). They are also the most common, and often reside in the overpopulated areas of Africa, near the Sahara, or generally near the south. They like to dine on leftovers of prey from larger animals, and sometimes even the carcasses the Maasai village people leave out for them. Hyenas are also often perceived as sneaky predators that are known to kill farmers' livestock and raid harvested crops. Occasionally they will attack humans if they feel threatened.

Despite their nasty reputation, hyenas are extremely smart as a hunter. Together, a group of hyenas is called a clan. When a clan decides to go out and hunt for their prey (because hyenas have to compete with jackals and vultures when they scavenge), they always have a clever plan. Often they send one hyena to run into a herd of animals (gazelle, wildebeest, etc.) to cause confusion (making the herd scatter), and then the rest of the pack will chase down the weaker animals. Smart, right? Occasionally, they will also sneak in on some lions' snack, which I imagine won't make the lions very happy (more on this later). But for the most part, hyenas prefer to be scavengers.

Courtesy: "Hyenas at stolen impala kill" by I, JerryFriedman (Wikipedia)

Hyenas also have great hearing and eyesight, which especially benefits them at night as they are nocturnal. Yet another example of their cleverness is that hyenas don't often live in "dens" or burrows; they temporarily rest under shallow pool overhangs or bushes that will hide them from the sun during the day. Call that a free home!

Did you know that hyenas also have archenemies? It's the lions. Hyenas don't like lions, and lions don't like hyenas. Both animals will steal each other's food: sometimes a hyena clan's meal will be stolen by some lions, or sometimes vice versa. Both species also are very defensive of their territories (so when they overlap, I'm sure it isn't very pretty). When a fight occurs, hyenas will call out to the rest of its clan for reinforcements (but most of the times the hyena gets hurt, or worse, killed)

Courtesy: "Panthera Ieo and Crocuta Crocuta" by lubye13 (Wikipedia)

On a happier note, hyenas are not picky eaters. They can (and probably will) eat almost anything! They could completely eat up a bone if they wanted to! Often, hyenas will eat up every part of the animal they hunted down. This is because they have extremely strong and powerful jaw bones.

A hyena's clan is extremely complicated. They live under a "matriarchal society," when a dominant female is the leader. In fact, all females in a hyena clan hold a higher ranking than males. That means that a relatively low-ranked female's cubs could hold a higher rank than a male! That's something I'm sure the ladies would like to hear. 

The last thing I will cover in this post about hyenas is their vocalizations. If you didn't know already, scientists and researchers have recorded 11 different sounds that hyenas can communicate with! That makes them the most vocal animals of Africa, according to San Diego Zoo Animals' "Spotted Hyena." Some of these sounds include their laughing sound, which is used typically when they submit to a more dominant hyena or when they are anxious, nervous, or under stress. Their loud "whooping" sound is used to call out to other clan members or search for their cubs. Squealing sounds are used when they meet and greet each other. These are only a small number of sounds they can make!

Courtesy: "Hyena Standoff" by Maureen Lunn (Wikipedia)

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The next time you see a hyena, whether at the zoo or in the wild, don't think too lightly of these animals--they are very smart, and chances are you've underestimated their strength and ability to survive by a whole lot. Currently, spotted hyenas aren't in too much danger (conservation-wise) but we should still be careful. Droughts are slowly decreasing hyenas' and other animals' food supply. Farmers or villagers in Africa will often shoot and kill these animals to protect their livestock/crops (which there is nothing wrong with that!) but we shouldn't pick up and aim our gun unless we are absolutely sure our livestock/crops/our own life is in danger. Hyenas are actually very smart and interesting creatures which help clean up after other animals and help maintain the African Migration population in balance. 

Here is a video of just how smart and amazing hyenas can be:

"Why Do Hyenas Laugh?"

Source: YouTube, Smithsonian Channel

I hope you enjoyed this post! Next week I will cover the gazelle, and the two or three weeks after that will be the wrap-up posts for the African Migration theme (including great areas to see these animals, Migration vacation tips, a quick overview of what I've covered, and other interesting facts or information on the Migration). 

See you next time!

~Cheri

Sources:

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/hyena/

http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/spotted-hyena