Spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta). Photo © Kate Shaw Yoshida
Spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta). Photo © René Mayorga · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
Colour-changes with age in the spotted hyena exceed those in other carnivores, providing extreme stimulus to the mother to nurture and defend her offspring.
This can be explained by the peculiar combination of selfishness and gregariousness in the aristocratic society of this species: the female shows no maternal instinct towards juveniles other than her own, but must promote and defend her own offspring to ensure that it shares her rank.
Robin and the Honey Badger, 22 March 2016
Photograph at ejphoto.com
Spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta). Photo © E.J. Peiker
Spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta). Photo © Bernard Dupont · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
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