Spotted Hyenas

[00:00:00] Alex Re: Hello, welcome to On Wildlife. I'm your host, Alex Re. On this podcast, we bring the wild to you. We take you on a journey into the life of a different animal every month, and I guarantee you, you're gonna come out of here knowing more about your favorite animal than you did before. In this episode, we're talking about an animal that we've discussed before, but they're so amazing and interesting.

[00:00:25] We had to do it again. And they may possibly be one of the most misunderstood mammals on the planet. In order to get a better understanding of them, I sat down with Lauren Arthur, a zoologist, who has spent years educating people about wildlife. She's been featured on a number of channels, including Nat Geo, WWF, CGTN, and Disney Plus. So join us as we head to the Savannahs and Grasslands of Africa to talk about spotted hyenas.

[00:01:15] Hi Lauren. How you doing?

[00:01:16] Lauren Arthur: I am good, Alex, how are you?

[00:01:19] Alex Re: I'm great. Thanks so much for coming onto the show. I'm so excited to talk to you about hyenas.

[00:01:24] Lauren Arthur: Yes. Well that's the one thing I love to talk about, so I'm super happy to be here.

[00:01:29] Alex Re: Awesome. Well, before we get into hyenas, can you tell us about your journey to becoming a wildlife biologist and what kind of first sparked your interest in wildlife?

[00:01:39] Lauren Arthur: Ew. It's quite a convoluted journey, but to be honest, it, it was from a very, very early age. I grew up on the east coast of Scotland, so the North Sea is right there. So I actually had quite a, a close upbringing to the sea, and I was obsessed with sharks from a really, really young age. So when most kids are playing with, I don't know, dolls, Barbies, I was at.

[00:02:02] Tomboy that was just super into sharks and bodyboard and being near the ocean. So that kinda stayed with me through life actually, and led me on to do marine biology and zoology at university. So I ended up getting a undergrad and in a postgrad in zoology and marine biology. And I just got really, really lucky on my own little hyenas here.

[00:02:25] Luna, do you wanna come on a podcast? We just rescued a wildcat. Oh, wow. So she made. She may say hi. Um, so yeah, and then I got really, really lucky when I was doing my masters, I got the opportunity to go to the Maldives to do my thesis to study whale sharks, and that was really the beginning of everything.

[00:02:45] I ended up doing really, really well there and working in the Maldives for eight years.

[00:02:51] Alex Re: Wow.

[00:02:51] Lauren Arthur: So. Very much Oceanic based. And then after eight years I did need to change. Maldives is is home, but it's also a very, very small island nation. So I needed change and I got an incredible opportunity to come to South Africa and actually work on land, be more terrestrial based.

[00:03:09] Going back to my zoological. Rather than my marine roots. So that was a big challenge. It was a big shakeup, but it was absolutely what I needed. And I've stayed South Africa and now I'm married to a South African. I have a little cat and I'm six months pregnant. So that's the journey.

[00:03:27] Alex Re: That's amazing. And, and you are the director of operations and head naturalists at Too Wild.

[00:03:33] Tell us a little bit about that organization and what you do there.

[00:03:36] Lauren Arthur: Yes, so both my partner and I, we ended up in wildlife film, which is crazy because it's not ever anything that I thought I would be doing with my life. But I ended up working on a live TV show called Wild Earth. For over six years as a wildlife biologist.

[00:03:55] So basically we were in a part of the, the Greater Kruger National Park and, and just on TV teaching people about animals from anything. I'm talking from insects to birds, to ecology, to, you know, the trees, to of course the hyenas and the much bigger animals. And it was the best time of my life really. It really was.

[00:04:16] But again, everything has. You know, an end date and I, and you need a bit of a challenge after six years. So my partner and I. Got a really lucky opportunity. He's a filmmaker. I'm more the biologist to actually start our own thing here in the bush. So we actually live in the Kruger Crazy life. Yeah. We teach people about wildlife film.

[00:04:40] We make documentaries. We try and, you know, film everything that's going on around us nature wise and that that's too wild. So you can actually come and stay with us and learn how, how to. Film wildlife, which sounds a lot easier than it actually is.

[00:04:55] Alex Re: Oh, I'm sure. Yeah. And I feel like the best way to learn about wildlife and the specific animals is just to just be in it, you know, just experiencing it firsthand.

[00:05:07] Lauren Arthur: Absolutely, absolutely. Textbooks can only teach you so much. Of course, textbooks are important, but I think really just experiencing it is super important and it makes people care more. And you know, we've created memories that last a lifetime here. So two artists in this infancy is just a year old really.

[00:05:26] So it's, it's just a baby and, and it's growing and, and doing very well. So we're very proud of it. Yeah.

[00:05:32] Alex Re: That's great. And speaking of freeze, can you tell us about any memorable experiences you've had interacting with hyenas?

[00:05:40] Lauren Arthur: Uh, you know, that's so crazy because everyone asks these kind of questions. I, I never would say I ever have interacted with them, but when observing them.

[00:05:53] Yeah, so many. We were very lucky that where we work, there was a clan, the social unit of hyenas is called a clan, and they were very accessible to us to film, so it was very, very easy to film them and just watch them from a sort of really responsible distance and just learn. So I learned every single member of that clan, whose mother to who, whose grandmother, whose great grandmother.

[00:06:18] I knew the clan inside us and some people. May disagree with me out there, but we definitely pick up on their individual personalities, treats that they have. You know, I mean, I used to sit and watch 'em for eight hours a day for months on aims. We filmed the most incredible things from M. It's really quite unusual to see Hyena's M.

[00:06:38] We managed to film that. We managed to film one Day Old Cubs, which is another real, I was, that was very special. I cried on live tv. I was. Hi, miss fma have a tattoo right here. Her name is Ribbon and she was the the matriarch at one point and we followed her for a very long time knowing that she was pregnant and that she was gonna give birth any minute and, and we found the day and then we, we got to see the Cubs and then follow the Cubs journey.

[00:07:06] And yeah, I think that whole experience of following ribbon was probably my most memorable time of my life. That's why. I decided to tattoo it. Um, she's iconic and, and such a legend. Then I think that was, yeah, it was very, very special. But I would never say interacting. You know, I think it's really important that when we are in the wild, you are just very much an observer and you, you just watch and interpret what you can to our limited understanding.

[00:07:36] Alex Re: Yeah, that's, that's a great distinction to make. And yeah, it's important to know that keeping it your distance is important for your safety, but also the animal safety as well.

[00:07:47] Lauren Arthur: Yes, a hundred percent.

[00:07:49] Alex Re: And you were talking a little bit about matriarchs and I, I would love to hear a little bit more about the social structure of hyenas.

[00:07:59] Lauren Arthur: It's actually incredibly complex. I think a lot of people. I really misunderstand these animals, really, they, they have a terrible reputation from, from Disney, the Lion King. Mm-hmm. Even Hemmingway way back in the day. It's not a new thing. It wasn't all Disney. Yes, they're predators just like a lion and a leopard, but I think their body shape and everything about them, the fact that they have this giggle, you know, the, he, it is, it is quite bizarre.

[00:08:25] And I think that just makes us find them repulsive, whereas. When you actually spend time with these animals, they are the most, you know, there's a, a scientific paper that's came out recently that says there intelligence rivals that are primates. Wow. They're remark intelligent and their social structure is so complex.

[00:08:45] So they are a matriarchal society. So just like elephants, really, the, the, the sort of. One at the top is the matriarch, which also means that it's a female dominated society. So really to be a male hyena, to be honest with you, it must really suck. It's not gonna be fun. It's all about the females and it's very much ranked in a hierarchy and it's a bit of a silver spoon effect.

[00:09:10] You are sort of the same rank as your mom. So if your mom's high ranked, you're gonna be born high ranked just like the royal family, and there's a high rank hierarchy and you know where you sit. And if you're at the bottom mm, you're not gonna have the best of life. It is definitely gonna be a lot more challenging to you.

[00:09:25] But if you're at the top, then hey ho, it's great. Or some archs right at the top. And she really, I guess. Uh, the point of having a matriarchal society for hyenas would be guest for control. I mean, these are incredibly powerful animals and imagine if they were just running a mock and there was no sort of society.

[00:09:46] So that would be my guess as to why it is that way. But they're just so misunderstood. You know, they have so many different vocalizations up to like 14 different vocalizations, and they can each recognize every single vocalization. Every single member of the clan. Wow. And I mean, that requires a, a lot of, you know, mental capacity right there.

[00:10:08] And the clan that I followed was about 20 strong. So it's very small. But I got the chance to go up to the Masai Mara and study another clan, a really famous clan called the North Clan, who was led by waffles. And they were 88 strong. Wow. So that was, yeah, so 88 times 14, I don't even know what that is.

[00:10:28] I've got baby brain. But, um, it's a lot, it's a lot of, you know, voice recognition. So their, their capacity, their maternal instincts, their family bonds are just so strong. And I think that's, it's really overlooked when people think of highs.

[00:10:43] Alex Re: Absolutely. And just to have that complex social structure requires intelligence, knowing where you stand.

[00:10:51] Lauren Arthur: Oh yeah, you have to, it's survival hyenas can be very aggressive to one another, so you really need to know where you stand on that hierarchy or you'll be in trouble.

[00:11:00] Alex Re: Definitely. And you were talking about their vocalizations. So do you know what the purpose of, of the specific laughing vocalization that we all know hyenas for what that really means?

[00:11:14] Lauren Arthur: Yes and no. I'm always very hesitant of, of saying a guarantee thing when it comes to the animal kingdom because

[00:11:20] mm-hmm.

[00:11:21] Lauren Arthur: All that we know is our perception or, you know, we're so limited, there's so much we don't see, we don't hear, we don't smile, we don't feel we're blind and deaf to a lot of stuff that goes on, but it is sort of commonly known that that giggle is actually quite a nervous.

[00:11:36] Sound. So that's why the, the, the, the term giggle, it kind of misrepresents the sound because to us giggle is laughter is happiness. You know, he, he, he, he, it's a joyous sound, really. But in hyenas, it sounds like a giggle. He, but it's actually when they're quite nervous or they're uncomfortable or they're under attack.

[00:11:57] So it's not such a positive sound as the word giggle may have you believe. Yeah,

[00:12:03] Alex Re: that's really interesting. And I feel like that goes with a lot of animals where we impart our own assumptions onto them about what, you know, they might be doing like a, a chimpanzee smiling for instance. They, that we think, oh, that, that they're happy, but that's not necessarily what that means.

[00:12:24] Lauren Arthur: I mean, we do it all the time and it's, it is literally human nature. Like we can't help it. We only know what we know, and we're limited by our understanding. So of course we're gonna project our feelings and our thoughts onto the animal kingdom. And yes, it is technically wrong, but it's, it's really the only way that we know how.

[00:12:43] Yeah. And at the Two World Film Course, I actually teach phenomenology, which is, uh. Uh, a branch of philosophy that has been utilized and applied to the animal kingdom, and I'm just utterly fascinated by it. It's a completely different take on how to look at the animal kingdom. So you're taking yourself out of your human realm, out of your human.

[00:13:07] Box and trying to look at the animal through the animal's perspective as best as you can, and also just to understand that there's so much we don't know we're learning every single day. And I think that that fact alone, if everyone could just adopt that and understand that it would make a big difference to the way that we treat animals.

[00:13:28] We literally know nothing. Um, there's a marvelous kingdom out there, and we only know what we see. We're very visual animals, but there's so much going on that we don't know. So I think it's really important when you do talk about animals, just to always, you know, put that pinch of salt and that nothing is, nothing is a rule.

[00:13:51] Alex Re: I love the thought of removing our human assumptions when we're looking at animals. It can really help us understand them better when we take away our biases. Let's take our first break, and when we get back, we'll hear about some very interesting adaptations that spotted hyenas have.

[00:14:19] On today's episode, I wanna give a shout out to Henley, Berkeley and Andy, their favorite animal is the GIA monster. Which is the largest lizard species in North America? Did you know that they spend 95% of their time underground? If you want us to give you a shout out on an episode and you want exclusive on wildlife content, you should sign up for our Patreon at patreon.com/on wildlife.

[00:14:47] Okay. Now back to the episode,

[00:14:59] can you talk about some of the adaptations that spotted hyenas have that allow them to survive in the wild?

[00:15:06] Lauren Arthur: Yeah. This is such a. A topic that some people cringe at, but to me is utterly fan fascinating. Their reproductive biology is just absolutely mind blowing. They were thought to be mites a long time ago, which is completely wrong, but also maybe understandable why people thought that.

[00:15:27] So both the male and females have identical looking genitalia. So the females have a, the males have a penis naturally, but the females actually have a pseudo penis.

[00:15:37] Alex Re: Oh,

[00:15:37] Lauren Arthur: and. It, it, it, it looks identical. So when, when you are trying to identify, is it a male or is it a female, it is really difficult to see and we've got it so wrong in the past.

[00:15:48] There are things you can look at and luckily we were looking at it through a camera, through a Zoom lens, so of course we had an added advantage. But I mean, just to the average person, it's, it's. I don't know if this is a male or a female, which is why people thought they were hermaphrodites and they are not.

[00:16:04] They're completely distinct, two separate sexes. But I mean, ribbon, my girl, she, we believed her to be a boy for so long and then she gave birth, and then we thought, oh, okay, got that one wrong. So that, that's really challenging. They also have a pseudos, which I know sounds bizarre, but it also leads to so many questions.

[00:16:28] Why, why do they have this anatomy? How did it evolve and, and why did it evolve? And we, we know how it evolved through different hormones, of course, but why, I guess we don't really know the answer to that. It is led to believe that it's a female dominated society. So by them adapting this really unique and challenging anatomy, the females have the upper hands.

[00:16:54] So there can be no sort of, you know, sexual coercion or anything like that. The males literally have no power. Everything is on the female's terms. They will only meet when the females say we can meet. So I, I guess. That's the reason, but maybe it's not the reason, you know, and I just think that in itself, when you really dive into the anatomy and how these females give birth and what they go through to give birth, it's just it, it just gives you so much respect for them.

[00:17:23] That's probably the highlight of the adaptations. But I mean, here there are obviously so much more, they have one of the strongest bites, you know, that even I think, stronger than a lion that, that, that. Jaw that they have. And then of course they have this really strange look about them. It's almost like they're skulking and they've got that sloping back.

[00:17:45] I think that also works against them in their image, but actually it's an adaptation because they have this hugely powerful long neck, which requires really powerful shoulder muscles to power that neck, and that's for going in and stealing carcasses. So they can literally just. Pull a, a really heavy carcass and get a free meal, but in order to offset the energy consumption and, and be a little bit more energy efficient, they have very weak back legs, very small back legs.

[00:18:13] So that's where you get that really powerful front and then that sort of loping smaller, you know, size as you get towards the back, and it makes total sense. But when you look at it, it does give them that sort of like, I don't know, that naughty appearance that maybe people make. Might think that they're bad.

[00:18:32] So those are two really cool adaptations from, from my perspective. But there are so many more, they're remarkable mammals.

[00:18:41] Alex Re: Yeah, that, that's really interesting. And again, us imparting our views on them, the, the hunched back look makes them look like they're up to no good. But it's really important for them to survive.

[00:18:55] Lauren Arthur: Exactly, and they're not. But again, just our perceptions as is everything.

[00:19:00] Alex Re: Definitely. And you were talking about them s stealing carcasses. Can you talk about how they would interact with other animals like lions?

[00:19:10] Lauren Arthur: You know, it's funny because. Being, I've, I've been in, in the Kruger sort of area filming wildlife now for about eight years in total.

[00:19:20] I've, I've moved around a little bit and it's just so fascinating seeing how everyone has their own little niche that they, they fit into out here and how they survive. They all have their own, what I love to call superpower. So even if you just think of your, your lions, your leopards, and your cheetahs, now they are three cats.

[00:19:41] They're classified a little bit differently, but three cats all the same. But they're all so different with their own unique superpower because if they were all the same, then they would just all compete and no one would survive and thrive. So of course you have the lions that are the strongest. Yes, my god.

[00:19:56] They are huge. They are so powerful. But they're not fast and they're not nimble or agile of trees. Then you get the leopards that, of course, when you watch a leopard climb a tree, it's just like, wow, how are you doing this? You know? It's like defying gravity. But again, they're not as strong as a lion, and they're fast, but they're not as fast as a cheetah.

[00:20:15] But of course you get the cheetah. They can climb trees, but they're not as agile as a leopard. They're not strong at all. They've not got a lot of power, but they are fast of course. So that's just an example how everything has their own superpower out here in order to, to fit into the piece of the, the puzzle of the sort of ecosystem and.

[00:20:36] When you watch animals interacting with each other, it's fascinating because actually they're all aware of one another. It's not like they don't know each other exists. So I have worked in areas where spotty hyenas, there are four different species by the way, are absolutely terrified of lions, really, and the lions will kill 'em.

[00:20:57] But here you'll find sometimes hyena can be quite brave and they're actually not so terrified and they know how to play the game. They know that the lions will kill a bigger animal like a buffalo or a zebra or a Gira, and once the lions are finished and they've sort of taken as much meat as they probably can, the lions leave.

[00:21:17] So the hyenas know if they just wait. Don't annoy the lions, don't get involved. Just sit and just wait. The lions are gonna leave. And then come the hyenas and come all the other scavengers, like your vultures, your jackals, to clean up the carcass, which of course is super important. So it is funny watching the animals all ebb and flow around one another.

[00:21:37] They're all very aware of each other's presence through saints. Vision two, but it's definitely not the primary sense in most animals. They can hear each other. A lot of people will say, what will Ena doing? It sees a lion. Yeah. Well, they know The lions are there, know they, it's, it's the ecosystem, but it's, it's remarkable to watch and observe and just see, even in different areas where I have studied these hyenas, they will react differently to the same predator or the same enemy, if you like.

[00:22:09] In different places. It's not the same throughout, if that makes sense.

[00:22:15] Alex Re: Yeah, that, that's really interesting. And that's probably another testament to their intelligence. And they probably know lions in this area are this way, and in the other area they would know. The lions are different in that way, so they would react to how the lions are acting as well.

[00:22:35] Lauren Arthur: Exactly. Observations, learning, you know, behavior is passed down through learning. Mm-hmm. So if the mothers have had bad experiences, but it is fascinating. It's not, it's not always the same. Um, and where we live, there's, there's quite an interesting relationship between leopards and hyenas. Hyenas are just renowned to following leopards, and I'm convinced I cannot prove this, this is not scientifically proven, but I am convinced they actually recognize leopards by.

[00:23:04] Percent individually, which is really remarkable because one species shouldn't need to recognize another species individually, but I'm convinced it's because they just follow them. They obviously sit under the tree when the carcasses up there waiting for a free meal, which is great. Why not? And they will learn to.

[00:23:23] The sort of doing, which leopards dropped the carcasses the most, and obviously they're gonna follow that leopard. It's just fascinating. There's just so much I can say about what you observe here and me. I've been in the field so long now, and I'm still learning. I, I never say that I have all the answers.

[00:23:42] I literally still sit there and always remain teachable. And the wild will always teach you. I mean, sometimes when we see left the wild will go right. We see black, the wild will go white. So it's a constant learning experience.

[00:23:57] Alex Re: Yeah. That that's amazing. And what are some of the issues that Hy are facing right now?

[00:24:03] Lauren Arthur: To be honest, as a, as a species spot are doing well, they're not necessarily endangered per se, and they're not listed on the sort of IUCN red list as in any trouble. The other species are more so they are a very resilient, successful animal, however, that goes without seeing. I think every organism out there is facing issues.

[00:24:30] Mm-hmm. I think their public image really goes against them. I think they have a huge PR crisis on their pause that needs to improve. And I know a lot of people out there are doing great work to try and combat that. And I do think, you know, these nature documentaries, BBC and things like that are trying now to, to bring.

[00:24:48] Hyenas back from that, you know, lion King reputation, but they are facing so many issues like other animals. From poaching. From snares. Snares is a huge issue. We rescued many hyenas with snares around their neck, which probably were not meant for them. But a hyena lifestyle in the way that they operate makes some ideal candidates to always end up in snares and that that's a huge problem in this area.

[00:25:16] Poaching. You know, the poachers are obviously probably trying to go after the rhino and whatnot, but the hyenas will end up. Accidentally caught up and just really the fact that because people don't like them because they are seen as dirty and vermin and just horrible animals, people in areas that are not so well educated about and well kill them.

[00:25:39] So they absolutely are facing their own issues. I really do believe every organism is, and I just think we need to educate. People on the importance of them. They are so important. I mean, imagine being out here in the wild where I live and lions are killing every third night. You know? Dead carcass, carcass, carcass, and nothing comes to clean that carcass up.

[00:26:03] Can you imagine the smell, the, the insects, the disease? I mean, it would begin to spread. Obviously there are vultures and, and jackals and there are other scavengers. But imagine if none of them cleaned up. It would be horrible. No one would ever want to go in safari. So what they do is so important, and I think that part of the, the nutrient cycle isn't spoken enough about.

[00:26:27] The function that they perform out here. So I think those are probably the biggest challenges to hyenas spotted hyenas right now.

[00:26:36] Alex Re: Definitely. And I, the scavengers really get a horrible name because we think of them as dirty, gross, because they're eating carcasses. But

[00:26:45] Lauren Arthur: yeah,

[00:26:46] Alex Re: if they didn't do that, then.

[00:26:48] The entire landscape would be gross and dirty.

[00:26:51] Lauren Arthur: Yeah, gross. And you know, vultures, I love vultures. I love them so much. I, ugh, they're great. People think they're dirty and they're gross and, and yeah, I wouldn't want to be pooped on by one. But they're actually incredibly hygienic animals. They're very clean.

[00:27:07] So they're not recognized for that. Yes, they do put their head in carcasses, but then they really, really clean themselves. They bathe and I. It's not fair to call them dirty because lions are also eating that carcass, but yet no one thinks of them like that. So it's what we call the panda effect from the sort of WWF logo.

[00:27:27] It's a great logo, but that panda people are more. Attracted to your lions, your leopards, your tigers, your dolphins, your pandas. Then they are about saving, you know, the giant mo rats or hyenas or you know, the ugly five, which is such a terrible term.

[00:27:48] Alex Re: Mm-hmm.

[00:27:48] Lauren Arthur: So yeah, the panda has us all and I think that that really needs to change.

[00:27:53] There are so many species out there that need our help, but they maybe aren't as cute or as lovely. As a lion or a leopard.

[00:28:02] Alex Re: Yeah, and And what is something that the average person could do to help hyenas?

[00:28:07] Lauren Arthur: I think just educate yourself really has been such a journey. You know, on the Wildlife TV show, I, I didn't know much to start with.

[00:28:14] Yes, I studied zoology, but I didn't really know about hyenas per se. And that was a, a journey that I went on to also learn. So of course I did textbook learning, but then I was in the field, so I was able to really do observational learning, and I just threw myself into it. My whole wall was covered in every.

[00:28:32] You know, a picture of every hyena with like lines going to each one, like on those murder mystery boards when trying to solve a crime. Trying to link this one's related to the sun and this one's related to this one. To just try and learn and learn and learn. And of course, I got things wrong along the way.

[00:28:48] To read all the papers with very cool websites and tools out there that you can sort of just learn new science daily. science.com is really cool because it just simplifies it all. It's not like you have to sit and read a scientific paper, ugh. But you can sit and just read a little summary and be like, that's really cool.

[00:29:07] That's what they discovered about hyenas last week. So I think just to educate yourself and I'm know not. Everyone has a chance to go out in the field. I get that. If you can do, if you can, you know, there are the TV shows like what I used to work on while there, it's still going even although I'm not there, and you can literally.

[00:29:26] Just jump on board a live safari and just listen to the guide and the naturalist. Just tell you all these wonderful things that you might have not known before. So I think just educating yourself on, on these topics. You know, I used to have severe arachnophobia, really severe. I was absolutely terrified of spiders.

[00:29:42] I dunno where it stems from. And then of course, I came to Africa.

[00:29:48] Alex Re: No,

[00:29:49] Lauren Arthur: yo the spiders an extremely dangerous, you know, there's some medically important ones I just saw, right? The only way for me to survive this career that I've just gone into where you literally drive into webs and sometimes this massive spider that the, the size of your hand is gonna land on your face is to just.

[00:30:07] Somehow combat this fear and the approach I took was just to learn about them. And spiders are so frigging cool. You know, there's some species where like the females just cannibalize the males and just eat them when they can't be bothered with them. And the things that they do, they're much bigger than the males and the things that they do for their offspring.

[00:30:28] So once you start to learn, you're like, that is so cool. Then when you actually see the animal, although there's an element of. Fear, you start to also have an element of, oh wow, you are really cool. And although there are accidents here, people get spider bites. Like generally they are not coming after you.

[00:30:48] You know, they want their own space. We want our own space. So I think it's just, I just forced myself to learn all these cool things. And sometimes we do have some spiders in the house. Obviously the non-dangerous species, the dangerous ones, we have to remove with the. Cup and paper methods, but the non-dangerous ones, we just try and name them and just be like.

[00:31:11] Hi Wolfie. Hi George. Hi Albert. And just try and create, you know, these guys are not scary. They're not gonna hurt me at all. And they're also eating up all the mosquitoes and all the things that are in my house. So it's just, it's a shift in mentality and I think the only way to do that is to learn.

[00:31:27] Alex Re: Yeah, definitely.

[00:31:28] That I, that's a great idea to, to name them, just to humanize them a little bit and yeah. I love that. Yeah, and it's, I, I truly believe education is the way to, you know, get people to really love animals that we have been pushing away for so long and, yeah. Yeah, spotted hyenas. All hyenas are such misunderstood animals.

[00:31:53] So I'm so glad you were able to come on here and talk about them with me today. And thank you again for coming onto the podcast.

[00:32:00] Lauren Arthur: Oh, thank you so much for having me and letting me chat about my favorite animal.

[00:32:06] Alex Re: I wanna thank Lauren for taking the time to share her knowledge about spotted hyenas with me.

[00:32:11] A lot of us have these preconceived notions about hyenas, which can really have an impact on their conservation. When we take the time to understand animals and maybe even teach other people about them, we can get more people to care about them and want to help to keep their population strong. In addition to checking out Lauren's website, Too Wild, you should also take a look at African Wildlife Foundation and in Ingo and Goro Hyena Project, which are both working to support hyenas and their habitats.

[00:32:43] Thank you so much for coming on this adventure with me as we explored the world of spotted hyenas. You can find the sources that we use for this podcast and links to organizations that we reference at onwildlife.org. You can also email us with any questions at onwildlife.podcast@gmail.com, and you could follow us on Instagram at On Wildlife, or on TikTok at On Wildlife.

[00:33:10] And don't forget to tune in next month for another awesome episode. And that's on wildlife.