The striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena) is widespread during Neolithic and Bronze Age times, with fossils going back three million years. The smallest and most primitive of the hyenas, the striped hyena is an opportunist.
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It makes an appearance in the Mediterranean area as the spotted hyena population declines in Asia. In the Bronze Age the striped hyena enjoys a widespread range throughout Eurasia.
Fossils of the striped hyena have also been found in caves of Germany, France and Portugal. During the Bronze Age c. 3300 - 1200 BCE, the striped hyena frequents the Arabian coast and into the interior, the ancient near East, India and North Africa.
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Apex predators inhabiting the wilds include the Caspian Tiger, Eurasian Lion and Arabian Leopard. Arabian wolves, grey wolves and the great bear also work out their territories in the forests and hills as humans build civilizations and roads taking up vast tracts of land.
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Striped hyenas are strategic consumers. They'll kill small prey from rock hyrax to grasshoppers, but it's usually more economical to dine on someone else's kill, or clean up the carcass of one who doesn't make it through the lean season.
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Their relationship with concurrent grey wolves is complex. Wolves will chase and kill hyenas. However there are also recorded instances of hyenas traveling with the wolves.
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The hyenas have a keen sense of smell but worse eyesight than that of wolves. The wolves are better hunters. They work together to locate a kill, flank attack or tire out the prey.
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The wolves eat first. The teeth of the wolves are better than those of the hyena for tearing through the hide of an animal. Hyena's teeth are made for crunching.
Hyenas also have to defend their meal from vultures, ravens, jackals and foxes. Foxes especially take joy in harassing hyenas, even when there's no food involved. Harassing hyenas is risky business. The fox who moves too slowly is on the menu.
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Striped hyenas will eat almost anything including birds, mice and other rodents, carrion of local gazelles and deer, even dead predators. About the only creature the hyena won't eat is the vulture, and it's not surprising.
The urine of the vulture is an antibacterial acid which cleans their legs and feathers of bacteria from the kill. At the same time, the face, skin and intestines of the vulture are teeming with bacteria-killing toxins, including antibacterial bacteria.
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People prove to be less picky than hyenas. Those who have eaten vulture meat say it tastes like chewy chicken.
Striped hyenas are monogamous. Both parents find a place for the den and decorate it together. The den is often a vacated site in a cave, though they'll dig one out if they want to. A sure sign of a hyena den is a pile of bones by the entrance.
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The female gives birth to 2 - 4 furry blind deaf pups, unlike the spotted hyena who bears open-eyed pups further developed. While mother nurses the pups, the male brings her food. In Turkmenistan the striped hyena is more of a hunter, dining on wild boar, kulan (wild ass), porcupines and tortoises.
In the Caucasus, striped hyenas eat grasshoppers. In the Uzbekistan region they enjoy oil willow fruits (silverberry). The cubs are weaned after about two months. Both male and female bring food for them. The striped hyena is almost entirely nocturnal, returning to the den well before sunrise.
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In Asian and middle Eastern folklore the striped hyena takes a special place. Parts of the animal are thought to have magic attributes and may be carried as charms. This association might be one reason the hyena numbers are shrinking today.
In the Hebrew bible the striped hyena is called tzebua or zevoa. It's the national animal of Lebanon. From the coasts of Asia Minor the Greeks know the striped hyena as glános and húaina. In the wild, striped hyenas live about twelve years.
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Striped hyenas lack the characteristic noisy hyena laugh, an attribute of their spotted cousins. They're quieter in general, but occasionally let loose a hair-raising cackle.
The striped hyenas might have more difficulty than wolves in tearing open a carcass, but they're bone-crunches. With their teeth and strong jaws they can grind bone into powder, ingesting a lot of calcium and other minerals.
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The jaw power of the striped hyena is enough to crunch through the thigh bone of a camel. Wild hyenas often come into conflict with the aggressive bipedal animals dominating the lands, known as humans.
Closer to human settlements, striped hyenas will try to take advantage of unsecured garbage cans, making themselves unpopular with the locals. Hyena attacks on people are rare but they occur more often in intrusive ranges, for example the spread of civilization.
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In the Bronze Age the striped hyena ranges throughout Eurasia. About ten thousand striped hyenas currently exist in the wild. Conservation status is near threatened.
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