Hyenas are usually misunderstood and are often depicted unfairly as ruthless scavengers. However, they show remarkable maternal instincts and have complex social behaviors. The question as to whether hyenas eat their young does not have a clear answer. The hyena does not intend to kill or eat its young, though certain behaviors among them could be misconstrued for this. Detailed study of these subtle behaviors reveals the dynamics within the hyena family.
Hyena cubs enter the world with open eyes and sharp teeth, ready to immediately engage with their environment. When there is more than one cub in a hyena litter, particularly two, sibling rivalry can become lethal. This is known as fratricide – when one of the cubs fatally injures the other shortly after birth. In the struggle for survival, the stronger cub always wins the fight against the weaker one. This is where the competition begins, right from birth. This is a cruel but natural method that guarantees the remaining cub is more likely to live a successful life. Sometimes, the winning cub will even eat its dead sibling. While it might be gruesome to imagine for humans, this very fact justifies the cruel reality of the survival of the fittest in the animal kingdom.
It should be mentioned that, under natural conditions, predators may well consume their dead young, and this has indeed happened with hyenas. The point is not that the parents wish to “consume” their offspring, of course, but rather how they restore their loss and safeguard what is left of the cub. She is protecting her body from desecration by other scavengers as she eats its final act of protection, a final honor paid to her cub’s memory. This can also be looked at as some sort of closure or acceptance of loss by taking the cub back, figuratively, to its beginning.
This is a far cry from the popular misconceptions people have when they ask if a hyena “eats their babies.” They do not kill their babies out of cruelty but find this an instinctive act based on survival and caretaking instincts. Understanding such behavior dispels misconceptions about hyenas, presenting them not as animals that are cruel toward their offspring but as ones governed by intricate social bonds and natural mechanisms to survive.
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