Rosalind: I will laugh like a hyen, and that when thou art inclined to sleep.” As You Like It, IV. i. 147-9. – William Shakespeare
The goal of everyone who goes on safari is to spot The Big 5: lion, elephant, leopard, rhinoceros, and Cape buffalo. It took us 3 tries to see them all, but in January this year we finally did it!
Less famous (or looked-for) are The Ugly 5. Uwe and I have spotted every single one over time. And yes, they are UGLY. It is my great pleasure to introduce you to them, one at a time….
First up is the spotted hyena. They like grasslands and open terrain. From our tent in the Serengeti, in the middle of the night I heard them laughing hysterically. The spotted hyena is chatty!
Unlike most hyenas, the spotted hyena is a social animal and hunts in packs, probably because they follow migrating animals.
When they do their own hunting, spotted hyenas kill with their teeth and not their claws. They take care of other animals’ leftovers with those sharp teeth (and lack of compunction about eating something that’s clearly been dead for ages). As Wikipedia describes them, “Spotted hyenas evolved sharp carnassials behind their crushing premolars, therefore they did not need to wait for their prey to die, and thus became pack hunters as well as scavengers.” [1]
Along with bats, the spotted hyena is one of the very few creatures that can survive a rabies infection. Their diet of rotting meat gives them powerful concentrations of antibodies in their saliva.
Our safari guide told us that lions only eat meat. The hyenas then move in. They’re able to completely digest the organic matter found in bones, and their skulls and teeth are specialized to crack large bones and cut through animal hides.
Along with the hyenas come the carrion birds – two more of the Ugly Five. You’ll meet them soon.
NOTES: [1] wiki/Hyena; The Hyena Family © Jadi Campbell 2026. All photos © Uwe Hartmann. To see more of Uwe’s animal photos and pics from our trips go to viewpics.de.
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I’ve never seen a picture of a hyena before. They are kind of coyote like in looks.
Definitely ugly—and efficient.