About the Author

Simon Smit

Guest contributor

Simon boasts almost five years of guiding, two of them at Londolozi. His photographic work was already catching the eye of the team here for a long time before he joined the reserve, and he was asked to contribute to the blog literally ...

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11 Comments

on Hyena stronghold?

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Awesome photos of the little ones. They are still so small. Gorgeous. Love hyenas. Thy are really misunderstood. They play a vital role in the eco system. If they didn’t clean the bush it will be full off disease. They are also great hunters. Fascinating to watch hyenas at a den.

At last, a positive article about hyenas. We know their contribution to the balance oof Nature is so important–and the babies are adorable!

S.w. Tsang
Guest

There r the most common big predators in Africa & hold the most amount. While hunters love to kill lions especially the adult male lions that r in their prime for trophies , they ignore these predators which I think are hell lot harder to kill !

Because male lions are the ones who can protect their prides & guards their food from hyenas , with the taking of male lions in their prime , the balance is off within the areas which r given to big game killing.

May be that is why the hyenas is selous are the largest because only one per cent of the reserve is for photo safari !

In addition , because folks think killing a lion is so courageous & manly, villagers will spear lions to death in the name of retaliation
Of the lions predation on their cattle . In truth , lions only take less than 20% of livestock in sumburu . Naturally with such unfair prosecution of lions, hyenas there fair better . And in one country people there actually hand feed hyenas for tourism !

So there

Senior Digital Ranger

Your Londolozi blog brings something new and interesting every day. Thanks for the great writing, the valuable information, and the beautiful photography.

Barbara Miki Mall Sanders
Guest

what wonderful shots that capture another kind of beauty and a precious form of life. I am also fond of dung beetles so I guess I am the odd man out. That isn’t to say that leopards don’t take my breath away! Then of course there are baby elephants et al……..

Senior Digital Ranger

Thank you Simon for this interesting insight into their misunderstood lives. The fact that they only have 2 pups, shows they are not stupid, but sad when they give birth to more than 2. Your pictures are beautiful & yes the pups are so adorable. Have you seen the Wild Dog pups on your side yet?

Brian C
Guest

Great post and photos. Leopards are my favorite animal but hyenas do get a bad rap. The big cats steal food from one another & other predators too, just like hyenas. Camp Pan Male is almost as bad as a hyena in that respect, but we love him! I think hyena vocalizations are a little unnerving for humans (that whooping “laughter” when ripping another animal to pieces). They serve an important purpose in African ecology and have their own beauty, if not as spectacular as a leopard IMO.

Jill Grady
Guest

Well, I think there definitely is a general opinion that Hyenas are quite sinister, but it’s nice to see such wonderful photographs that show such a different side to them. The cubs are very cute and the mother is so attentive…very sweet to see.

Caroline Schulze
Guest

Oh wow!!!!!

Thank you all for the comments, I’m glad I’m not the only one that has a soft spot for these incredibly interesting carnivores. We hope to see a lot more of the cubs and give you an update on their growth in the near future!

Louise Taback
Guest

Thank You for the Awesome photos Simon!!

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