FOOD ACQUISITION BY SPOTTED HYAENAS IN ETOSHA-NATIONAL-PARK, NAMIBIA - PREDATION VERSUS SCAVENGING

Feeding ecology of spotted hyaenas was studied in central Etosha National Park, Namibia to contribute to the definition of the hyaena's niche as a predator/scavenger, and to determine if spotted hyaenas were major predators on Burchell's zebra greater-than-or-equal-to 3 months old. A review of the published quantitative studies of hyaena food acquisition indicates that the hyaena's niche is primarily that of a predator. The estimated percentage of hyaena-killed food in their diets ranged from > 50% to 98%. In our study, hyaenas killed about 75% of their food. Springbok were the most frequently hunted prey during our night-tracking observations; hyaenas did not hunt the zebra they encountered. Other observations indicate that hyaenas occasionally killed zebra in Etosha; therefore, we concluded that hyaenas are minor predators on zebra greater-than-or-equal-to 3 months old in central Etosha, unlike hyaenas in several other areas.