4 ms·

Even modern hyenas are formidable and I would not want to be surrounded by a pack of them. They regularly duel with lions.

bmitc 6y ago
Yea, I’m not sure what the commenter means by implying not formidable and being the size of dogs. Modern hyenas are not small by any means and are the size of the largest dog breeds and are much stronger. https://alumni.duke.edu/sites/default/files/dm-main-images/predator1.jpg https://alumni.duke.edu/sites/default/files/dm-main-images/p... https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ETcFOq3UcAEjG8Y?format=png&name=900x900 https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ETcFOq3UcAEjG8Y?format=png&name=... A modern hyena could trivially kill a human all by itself (hyenas have literally bone crushing jaws), which doesn’t even consider a pack of them. I actually found this video where a hyena basically took what it wanted from a leopard before the leopard took its prey up a tree. (Warning: predators with dead prey.) https://youtu.be/cYzogF9IVLI https://youtu.be/cYzogF9IVLI
- cmrdporcupine 6y ago
  I love how the leopard looks over its shoulder with a look that I anthropomorphized as an incredulous gaze, similar to the one my cat gives as my border collie runs around the house. "Can you believe this?"
- hnfong 6y ago
  > I actually found this video where a hyena basically took what it wanted from a leopard before the leopard took its prey up a tree. (Warning: predators with dead prey.) > https://youtu.be/cYzogF9IVLI https://youtu.be/cYzogF9IVLI The two animals were surprisingly "civil" given the amount of damage they could have inflicted on each other...
  - cmrdporcupine 6y ago
    I guess it's that predators budget their energy usage and evaluate the risks of confrontations. A wound would probably lead to infection and death, and expending energy fighting another big predator when you could spend that energy hunting instead...
- jessriedel 6y ago
  I did not say nor imply "not formidable". I said and meant "quite a bit more formidable". But, to your point: the overwhelming majority of humans killed by hyenas are killed by packs of hyenas, not individuals, and there is a reason for this. I definitely dispute the idea that a single modern hyena can kill a human "trivially".
  - sunstone 6y ago
    Particularly a human with a pocket full of stones.
actually_a_dog 6y ago
I wouldn't even want to be surrounded by a pissed off pack of Airedales, forget hyenas.

bmitc 6y ago

Yea, I’m not sure what the commenter means by implying not formidable and being the size of dogs. Modern hyenas are not small by any means and are the size of the largest dog breeds and are much stronger. https://alumni.duke.edu/sites/default/files/dm-main-images/predator1.jpg https://alumni.duke.edu/sites/default/files/dm-main-images/p... https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ETcFOq3UcAEjG8Y?format=png&name=900x900 https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ETcFOq3UcAEjG8Y?format=png&name=... A modern hyena could trivially kill a human all by itself (hyenas have literally bone crushing jaws), which doesn’t even consider a pack of them. I actually found this video where a hyena basically took what it wanted from a leopard before the leopard took its prey up a tree. (Warning: predators with dead prey.) https://youtu.be/cYzogF9IVLI https://youtu.be/cYzogF9IVLI

cmrdporcupine 6y ago
I love how the leopard looks over its shoulder with a look that I anthropomorphized as an incredulous gaze, similar to the one my cat gives as my border collie runs around the house. "Can you believe this?"
hnfong 6y ago
> I actually found this video where a hyena basically took what it wanted from a leopard before the leopard took its prey up a tree. (Warning: predators with dead prey.) > https://youtu.be/cYzogF9IVLI https://youtu.be/cYzogF9IVLI The two animals were surprisingly "civil" given the amount of damage they could have inflicted on each other...
- cmrdporcupine 6y ago
  I guess it's that predators budget their energy usage and evaluate the risks of confrontations. A wound would probably lead to infection and death, and expending energy fighting another big predator when you could spend that energy hunting instead...
jessriedel 6y ago
I did not say nor imply "not formidable". I said and meant "quite a bit more formidable". But, to your point: the overwhelming majority of humans killed by hyenas are killed by packs of hyenas, not individuals, and there is a reason for this. I definitely dispute the idea that a single modern hyena can kill a human "trivially".
- sunstone 6y ago
  Particularly a human with a pocket full of stones.

actually_a_dog 6y ago

I wouldn't even want to be surrounded by a pissed off pack of Airedales, forget hyenas.