Aquatic affinity of spotted hyena
Crocuta crocuta photo © bzd1
The spotted hyena sometimes emulates crocodiles in caching and retrieving food at the bottom of pools. This behaviour seems maladaptive in African national parks where the Nile crocodile is both competitor and predator, but would have been adaptive over most of its original range. Indeed, the spotted hyena was formerly widespread from Europe to China in climates too cold for crocodiles, and is the only large carnivore specialised for living in open grassland on plains where the seasonal pools are crocodile-free.
Robin and the Honey Badger, 22 March 2016
Photographs
Crocuta crocuta swimming
Crocuta crocuta wet and covered in mud
The fishing hyena
