The Life of Animals | Hyena | Hyenas have Relatively short torsos, and are fairly massive and wolf-like in build, but have lower Hind quarters, high withers and Their Backs noticeably downward slope toward Their croups. Hyenas are digitigrade, with the fore and Hind Paws having four digits each and sporting bulging pawpads. Like canids, hyenas have short, blunt, non-retractable claws. With the exception of the spotted hyena, hyaenids have striped coats, the which They Likely inherited from viverrid Their Ancestors. Hyenas have no baculum. Males in most species of hyenas are larger than females, though the spotted hyena is exceptional, as it is the female of the species That outweighs and dominates the male. Also, unlike other hyenas, the female spotted hyena's external genitalia closely resembles That of the male.
The spotted hyena is renowned for its strong bite proportional to its size, but a number of other animals (including the Tasmanian devil) are proportionately stronger. The dental formula for all hyena species is Hyenas lack perineal scent glands, but have a large pouch of naked skin located at the anal opening. The secretions are primarily used for territorial marking, though Both the striped hyena and the aardwolf Will spray Them attacked. Spotted hyenas Vary in Their folkloric and mythological depictions, Depending on the ethnic group from the which the tales originate. It is Often Difficult to know whether or not spotted hyena hyenas are the specific species featured in Such stories, particularly in West Africa, as Both spotted and striped hyenas are Often given the same names. In East Africa, Tabwa mythology portrays the spotted hyena as a solar animal first That Brought the sun to warm the cold earth, while West African folklore shows Generally the hyena as symbolizing Immorality, dirty habits, the reversal of normal activities, and other negative traits . In Tanzania, there is a belief witches That spotted hyenas use as mounts.
In the same area, hyena faeces are believed to enable a child to walk at an early age, thus it is not uncommon in That area to see children with hyena dung wrapped in Their clothes The Kaguru of Tanzania and the Kujamaat of Southern Senegal view hyenas as inedible and greedy hermaphrodites. A Tribe Called the mythical African bouda is reputed to house members Able to transform into hyenas. Striped hyenas are frequently referenced in Middle Eastern literature and folklore, typically as symbols of treachery and stupidity. In the Near and Middle East, striped hyenas are Generally regarded as the physical incarnations of jinns. Arab writer Al-Quazweeni (1204-1283) spoke of a tribe of people Called Al-Dabeyoun meaning "hyena people."
Al-Doumairy in his Writings in Hawayan Al-Koubra (1406) wrote That striped hyenas were the resource persons That vampiric creatures attacked people at night and sucked the blood from Their necks. He also wrote That hyenas only attacked brave people. Arab folklore Tells of how hyenas can mesmerise with Their Victims Sometimes with Their Eyes or pheromones. The image of striped hyenas in Afghanistan, India and Palestine is more Varied. Though feared, striped hyenas were the resource persons also symbolic for love and fertility, leading to numerous varieties of love medicine derived from hyena body parts. Among the Baluch and in northern India, witches or Magicians are said to ride striped hyenas at night. The striped hyena is Mentioned in the Bible. The Arabic word for striped hyenas, dhubba, is alluded in a valley in Israel known as Shaqq-ud-Diba (meaning "cleft of the hyenas") and Wadi-Abu-Diba (meaning "valley of the hyenas"). The modern Hebrews word for hyena is tzebua or zevoa, the which literally means "colored creature." Sc.1. Hyenas are exploited for food and medicinal purposes in some areas, including Muslim nations under the Shafiite school, where hyenas are kosher Considered Because Of Their omnivorous diet.
