As several cars stopped to get a good look at this hyena, some wild dogs came to investigate as well.
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Muhammad Suliman sent in this recording of a hyena trying to be sneaky to avoid detection. At first it looked like an older hyena was taking a nap at the side of the road while two cubs explored the long grass.
The hyena didn’t seem bothered by the high frequency of cars passing by, but that might have been because it was focused on something else.
In the distance, only vague shapes in the bush, something was moving, and although it took them several minutes to emerge the hyena was no doubt on alert, trying to determine what kind of threat they might pose.
Eventually, the cars move out of the way and Muhammad zooms in on the very distinctive outline of an African wild dog, the largest canines running wild on the continent.
The African wild dog has a very distinct silhouette with its large and round ears, and their strong social structure makes hunting alone rare.
Where there is one, there will be more, and this hyena knows it, but rather than scarper at the first opportunity, it decided to hunker down and see what might happen first.
This wild dog’s not going to fall for a basic trick so easily, and it spotted the hyena straight away. It trotted closer, pausing several times to take a good look at the hyena, as if making sure it was not about to run away.
When the wild dog is joined by one of its friends the hyena finally took notice, keeping a wary eye on them as they came closer. The dogs weren’t in any hurry, confident in their ability to outrun the hyena if they needed to.
These wild dogs are built for running, with lungs and feet specially evolved to help them build and maintain speed over long distances.
Both being carnivores with a preference for animals with hooves, like zebras or antelope, hyenas and wild dogs are direct competitors for their food, with hyenas being more likely to steal kills.
While wild dogs do also scavenge, they’re less likely to need to than other animals, due to their high hunting success rate. Although hyenas will attempt to steal kills from the wild dogs, the latter tend to be very effective at defending their meals because of their close knit social structure.
Even if hyenas don’t always have success stealing from wild dogs, they do like keeping an eye on them so they can take advantage of any opportunities.
This one was outnumbered, and doesn’t let the dogs get too close, but there’s a good chance it came back afterwards to make sure the dogs weren’t hiding any food.
African wild dogs are endangered, with their population in sharp decline, making whatever food they can secure extra valuable. This hyena’s attempt to hide has failed, and hopefully the dogs can maintain vigilance to keep themselves safe.
