The story of Usiku – the Spotted Hyena (Crocuta Crocuta)
Bijgewerkt op: 19 dec. 2019
Never ever did I think I would raise a Hyena, yes you read it right! I raised a hyena, a spotted orphaned hyena, the laughing hyena, a ferocious animal, with super strong jaws, often perceived as the underdog of animals.
Classified as least concern on the IUCN red list, but an animal feared by so many people and therefore unfortunately often killed. You have seen him in some previous posts of mine on instagram (almasanimalrehab), however never did I tell his story.
The hyena, evolutionary closer to felines, but they appear and behave more like dogs for sure. With their own family, the Hyaenidae they fall scientifically within the ‘cat-like’ carnivores. There are many myths about these highly intelligent animals which has given them a bad reputation. Hyena’s are people who have changed, some people believe they are witches or are symbols associated with death. Parts of hyena’s are also used in withcraft practices and I personally have seen how hyena’s were burried at a human graveyard without the head and their feet (which is food for a different post 😉)
Usiku is almost 2 weeks old on this picture. Here I was left with an orphaned hyena cub, was this my birthday gift? 😥