Hyena youngsters are curious, lively and full of beans, as these intimate photographs by Wild traveller Marli Potgieter prove. It’s no wonder the cubs stole her heart – but that’s not all the thieving little rascals made off with.
It’s no secret that Wild traveller Marli Potgieter has a bit of an obsession with spotted hyena. Whenever she’s spending time in the famous Kruger National Park, she makes it a priority to revisit all her favourite den sites. During a recent camping trip to Pretoriuskop Rest Camp, this avid hyena enthusiast was once again in her element.
She writes:
With the sun barely up, every day started off with a few hours at one of two den sites. On this particular day, we decided to go for an afternoon drive along the H1-1 main road. Judging from experience, hyena cubs are usually quite active from around four in the afternoon. We made a quick stop at Transport Dam where we found a lone elephant bull quenching his thirst.
When we arrived at the den, the little rascals were already at it with a total of nine hyenas ranging in all ages. The only adult supervision proved to be a very sleepy mom.
Mom keeping an eye
With the vehicle’s engine off, we watched in awe as the cubs suckled, jumped, chewed thorny twigs and bullied one another. Before long, the curious and playful spotties decided to explore our car – a strange, big box carrying two nosy humans. Because we’d been spending so much time with them, the cubs were quite accustomed to us and our vehicle, which made for some close encounters.
Cubs might be small, but their strength should not be underestimated. Razor sharp teeth can cause serious damage. Like a chewed-up mud flap.
Did you know? Hyena cubs are born with well-developed teeth and can fight quite viciously. In the case of female twins, it’s common for one sister to kill the other.
As the youngsters gathered around the vehicle, one particular hyena started to chew at the rear bumper. We started the engine a few times in an attempt to curb the mischief, but the hyena youngsters kept returning like naughty children. That’s when one of them – the largest of the lot – suddenly took off. It had something in its mouth…
The culprits
We soon realised that one of the rubber covers from the tow bar had vanished. The spotted thief kept its distance, making sure to keep his new-found toy from the others. Of course, another youngster also wanted to share in the fun and it soon got hold of a second tow bar cover.
The duo seemed quite pleased with their accomplishments and as some of the others tried to join the game, a tug of war ensued. The two culprits wanted none of it and took off – rubber covers and all.
Pictures by Marli Potgieter
Additional source: Smithers’ Mammals of Southern Africa: A Field Guide. Revised by Peter Apps. Struik Nature. 2012.
Also read: Roadside fun with Kruger’s curious hyenas
Very interesting story of the hyena cubs pulling off the tow bar cover. A few years back, a lioness walked behind our Pajero Sport, and it disappeared from view in the rear view mirrors for a while, we felt the vehicle move slightly and thought is was possibly having a rub against the back of the car. Back at camp we found teeth marks in our plasticized tow bar hitch cover. It fits rather tight, and obviously did not have a taste to her liking. Have kept it to this day as a great wild parks souvenir !
Thanks for sharing.!! photos are beautiful
We were there on 5 October and they did the exact same thing, took the cover off the towbar wiring loom. The cubs then proceeded to play and fight over it. My 14 year old daughter fell in love with the cubs (as did we all) and it was the best way to end the day in the park.
Lovely Photos – you can see their mischievousness !!
29 September, when we saw them, the towbar cover they’d stolen was a nice big rubbery one, still quite intact. The mother was lazily feeding one of her young, while the other cubs were having fun with the item; the holder not getting a chance to sit and chew as he was being hounded by the others so much.
Baie mooi foto’s. Ons was Begin Julie in Pretorius Kop. Op die Fayi ompad het ons Hienas met kleintjies gekry. Tot ons verbasing het ‘n groterige kleintjie aan ‘n mannetjie se tiet gesuig
Ek aanvaar dat die wet van gemiddeldes waar is. Hoe meer jy die parke besoek, hoe groter is jou kanse om sulke wonderlike ondervindinge te geniet.
Baie dankie dat julle dit met ons deel !!
OMGosh what awesome photos – just love hyenas too Marli! They are such fascinating & mischievous animals & I don’t understand anyone who does not love them! Thanks for sharing 🙂