Shy resident having a feast

Brown hyenas (Hyaena brunnea) are notoriously shy animals and although they have been seen before and their tracks spotted on Mountainlands Nature Reserve, this is the first photographic evidence of one.

Recently, a small zebra foal died on the reserve and a couple of days later we used the carcass as bait to see what a trap camera will capture.  The carcass – which was ponging by now  –  was attached to a peg that was driven into the ground and the camera was mounted in an adjacent tree.

After taking nearly 1500 photos of moving grass, the trap camera captured the brown hyena on the second evening  from when the carcass was placed in position. This was a wonderful surprise.The footage revealed the animal was skittish at first as it sniffed at the carcass, looked around, left a couple of times before it eventually tore it open and dragged it away. This scavenger found the carrion most attractive.The leg of the zebra attached to the peg remained behind. A brown hyena – whether it was the same one, we cannot tell – took the leg the second night as it managed to lift it off from the peg and carry it away. About 45 minutes later five bush pigs arrived at the scene and were also photographed. All this action took place during the middle of the night.

Brown hyenas provide an important ecological role in the natural food web  by cleaning up carrion and breaking down biomass creating a healthy environment for live animals. We are certainly glad Mountainlands is a haven for them.