Predator interactions can be the most exciting things to view in the bush, but sometimes the drama doesn’t escalate beyond a certain point, especially if there’s not food on the table.
It’s not always a case of one species trying to kill the other. It’s actually quite uncommon for things to get that far, either because one of the animals makes tracks out of there or the two species hold back. Self-preservation is an important part of staying alive in the bush (a bit obvious, that), and if there isn’t a definite resource to compete over, more often than not rival predators will let each other be. Except for lions. They’ll regularly try to kill other predators. But that’s a different story altogether…
Ranger Mrisho Lugenge and guests enjoy their first view of one of the cheetah siblings.
When hyenas are involved things can get aggressive, but they hardly ever result in bloodshed, for the simple reason that the hyenas are simply interested in scavenging meat, and do not view the opposing predator as a food source. Granted, if they come across the carcass of a leopard or lion they may well devour it, but for them to actively kill their rival is quite extreme.
A weak or injured rival might be a different story; the female cheetah with one eye was killed by hyenas, and old lions are sometimes finished off this way, but for the most part, hyenas will investigate the potential for a meal and if they find nothing they will move off.
A cheetah with an impala kill knows better than to attempt to fight off a hyena.
The two sub-adult cheetahs were visited by a hyena recently. It most likely detected their scent and trailed them to see if they had made a kill.
The hyena approached the cheetah siblings in a wide circle, sniffing and casting sidelong glances at them. When it failed to find a carcass, it rushed in on the pair, snarling in an attempt to scare them off. This is the same tactic is would use to chase a leopard from a kill; pure intimidation. Realising the male cheetah it was running at wasn’t backing down, it swung towards the smaller female, but quickly realised the male was charging up from behind it, so tucked in its tail and swung round to face him. The male cheetah backed down, and at the same time the hyena realised there was no useful purpose to be served by pressing home the charge.
An uneasy standoff as the hyena sniffs around for any sign of a kill.
The uneasy truce ended with the hyena lying down and going to sleep, and the two cheetahs slinking off with continual backwards glances towards their foe.
It was interesting to see the clear position of dominance the hyena knew it held. Totally unruffled, it was walking around sniffing for any sign of a free meal, completely unconcerned about the cheetahs, something it would certainly not have done had it been lions it was dealing with.
Predators are very good at sizing up a situation and deciding whether the odds are in their favour or not, but luckily for the cheetah, this time they didn’t have any food to lose, so all three of the protagonists were able to go on their way in peace, wihout having lost anything in the encounter.
We had an amazing sighting a few years ago with Sandros. A cheetah has just made an Impala kill on the western boundary. It was lying to the side getting its breath back. The light was fading fast. It suddenly lifted its head. A hyena approached from the east. It rushed in and grabbed the Impala. The cheetah rushed at the hyena trying to defend the kill. It gave up and walked off slowly while the hyena started feeding.
James if there had been say 5 hyena’s would the situation have changed in that the Hyenas might have seen an advantage to killing the cheetah if they had it surrounded or would the outcome have been the same.
Cheetah are fascinating … beautiful, graceful, incredibly fast … but the timidest of the larger predators! And so cat-like the way they hiss and arch their backs! It seems that one will stand guard while it’s mate eats and vice versa but as soon as another predator arrives they reluctantly yield their kill to avoid a fight.
An interesting blog James. Funny, I had often wondered what happens to the big cats’ bodies when they die or are killed by another animal. Well I guess any animal for that matter. Hyena and other predators are the clean up crew. You never stop learning about nature – always something different. Thanks for sharing with us.
It is fascinating to watch the dynamics between hyenas and the big cats, especially when it pertains to food. Do wild dogs ever enter the picture in the hyenas’ quest for food? I know the former are hunters but since the latter are opportunistic, perhaps they try to steal away a bit.
Hyhena’s are so aggressive and dominate. I had to laugh when, after the stand-off, the hyena merely laid down on the spot and went to sleep!! Incredible! Nature never ceases to amaze.
Good stuff