The spotted hyena is one of Africa’s most successful carnivores, utilizing a powerful build, complex social structure, and adaptive hunting and scavenging strategies. Often mischaracterized as a mere scavenger, the hyena is a formidable predator, with some populations hunting up to 90% of their food. These animals live in large, cooperative, female-led clans, a social complexity that allows them to dominate smaller rivals and hold their own against larger ones. Due to their toughness and intelligence, healthy adults in a group have few natural enemies that regularly target them as prey.
The Dominant Predator: Lions
The African lion is the only animal that regularly targets and kills healthy adult hyenas, a dynamic driven almost entirely by intense competition for food resources. Lions and hyenas are the two top large carnivores across the African savanna, and their rivalry is a continuous, lethal conflict over territory and kills. The lion’s powerful physique and sheer size are its primary advantages over the hyena.
A large male lion can weigh up to 190 kilograms, significantly heavier than the largest spotted hyena, which averages between 50 and 85 kilograms. While hyenas often succeed in driving a lone lioness off a carcass, the presence of an adult male lion or an entire pride quickly shifts the balance of power. Lions intentionally seek out and kill hyenas, often without consuming the body, a behavior known as interspecific killing. Studies show that in some regions, such as Etosha National Park, lions are responsible for a large majority of adult hyena deaths.
The animosity is so strong that lions will often pursue a single, isolated hyena to eliminate a competitor. However, the hyena’s size and agility make it a dangerous opponent, and lions usually only succeed when they have a clear numerical advantage. An occasional, opportunistic threat to adult hyenas is the Nile crocodile, which may attack a hyena near or in the water.
Threats to Juveniles and Smaller Hyena Species
While a clan of adult spotted hyenas is nearly invulnerable, their cubs are highly susceptible to predation. Hyena cubs are born in secluded dens and remain dependent on their mother’s milk for an unusually long period, up to 12 to 18 months. During this time, they are vulnerable to a variety of predators, including lions, African wild dogs, and even large constrictor snakes like the African rock python.
Infanticide is also a factor, particularly in spotted hyena society, where cubs can be killed by members of rival clans. The threats are even more numerous for the smaller hyena species, which are less powerful and often solitary. The Brown hyena, Striped hyena, and the insectivorous Aardwolf are all smaller than the spotted hyena and face a broader range of predators.
The Brown and Striped hyenas, which are primarily scavengers, are at risk from leopards, which may opportunistically attack a solitary animal. The Aardwolf, which feeds almost exclusively on termites, is a much smaller animal, weighing only about 7 to 10 kilograms. Its size makes it vulnerable to a wider variety of carnivores, and even large birds of prey pose a potential threat to its young.
Conflict Versus Consumption
The vast majority of lethal interactions between hyenas and other carnivores are rooted in conflict over resources, not a true predator-prey relationship where the killer intends to eat the hyena. The distinction between a competitive kill and actual consumption is significant when discussing what truly preys upon hyenas. Animals like African wild dogs and cheetahs frequently engage in intense, sometimes fatal, battles with hyenas, particularly when defending a fresh kill.
Wild dogs are known to mob and harass hyenas to drive them away from a carcass, and these skirmishes can result in the death of a single hyena, especially if it is isolated. Cheetahs, which are less physically robust than hyenas, will aggressively defend their kills to prevent kleptoparasitism (food theft), which can occasionally lead to the death of a young or vulnerable hyena. However, neither the wild dog nor the cheetah commonly consumes the hyena afterward. These animals focus on securing their meal and eliminating a direct competitor. The primary motivation is resource control, rather than hunting hyenas for sustenance.