There’s no rest for this hyena parent, as she tried to take a moment sit at the side of the road before her cubs decided that a good game of wrestling would be a better way to spend the time.
Keith Raine filmed these naughty hyenas bothering their mom as she tried to lay down, and sent the footage of their crazy antics to Latest Sightings.
Completely Outnumbered
There appeared to be three generations of hyenas, and two of them had decided to annoy their mom. There was one hyena which was not quite as large as an adult, but significantly larger than the other two which were tiny little cubs.
The game was simple, attack mom. It was unclear if she’d willingly involved herself in the game, and it looked like she might have instead settled down at the side of the road for a short rest.
If this was the case then it wasn’t quite going to be the relaxing break she’d anticipated, as all three younger hyenas leapt on her back at various points of Keith’s footage.
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If You Can’t Beat Them Join Them
Whether or not she’d planned to be part of the game, the cubs had involved her now and the hyena mom had to play her part. She couldn’t defend herself against an assault by all three at once, but the tide soon turned her way.
Two of the cubs, distracted in their games, moved off battling against one another which left this hyena mom in a one on one fight against the third cub. These numbers were much fairer, and with only a little rolling around she was able to win this mock battle.
But the cub returned, clearly not the kind of hyena to be disheartened by its poor odds, and this time the mom feigned weakness, allowing the cub to pretend it had defeated her.
Every Day Is A School Day
This was fun for the cubs, but it was also an important learning opportunity for them. As part of their game they nibbled on each other’s legs and necks, all important targets for hunting.
Despite their notoriety for being scavengers, hyenas are just as capable at hunting their prey as other predators, and these youngsters would have to learn how to do it efficiently if they were going to be successful at it.
Attacking prey’s neck can lead to a quick takedown, especially with a hyena’s powerful bite force, and biting their prey’s legs can weaken it and give them more of an opportunity to land a killing attack.
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Making Them Work For It
Although these hyenas were only predators in training, their prey wouldn’t simply lie down and allow them to attack at will, so their mom was determined not to give in too easily in their game.
She didn’t get up to flex her superior speed on her cubs, but she made sure not to let them win, using her head and legs and rolling around when necessary to encourage them to get creative with their attacks.
This game might have started off as an annoyance for her, but now it seemed that these hyena cubs were in good hands, or paws, as she was clearly making sure that she was raising them right.
