Spotted hyenas also known as the laughing hyena are the most social of the carnivore and have a very complex social behaviour. Their famous laugh is mainly to alert other group members to a source of food. The noise can be heard up to three miles away and is one of the many sounds made by them to communicate to each other.
Hyena’s social system is openly competitive rather than comparable. Female hyenas care for their cubs and male do not take any parental responsibility. Female hyenas are larger than male hyenas and they are the ones who dominate the group. Spotted hyenas are social animals which live in large communities known as a clan. The clan consists of 80 individuals. In the clan, female hyenas dominate the male hyenas with even the lowest ranking females dominating the highest ranking male.
Spotted hyenas are scavengers. They feed on kills of other carnivores and they are also skillful when it comes to hunting their on prey. Spotted hyenas are the most successful animals than other carnivores and this is due to their adaptability and cunning behaviour. They have a capability of eating larger food and also to digest skin and bones. The only parts which cannot be digested by hyenas are the hair, horns and hooves.
Hyenas are found in many habitats including woodland, savannah and desert places. They are nocturnal and thus very rare to see during the day. In Uganda, spotted hyenas are found in Murchison falls national park, Queen Elizabeth, and Kidepo valley national park. Most tourists visiting these national parks have the chance of spotting the hyenas during the morning game drives.
A safari n Uganda to these savannah national parks offers an opportunity to sight the spotted hyenas and also a chance to view other wild animals like lions, elephants, antelopes, hippopotamus, buffaloes and others can be seen. However, this is not the main tourist attraction into Uganda.