Wait, no hyenas at the mall?
Oh ok, well then let me help you understand some differences between hyenas and African wild dogs. You'd be surprised how little they have in common, and how often people mistake them for each other. Here's three ways to tell them apart.
One: The African wild dog is in the canid family, most closely related to animals like wolves and coyotes. That's right, the name 'painted wolf' that African wild dogs have is actually pretty accurate! Spotted hyenas, on the other hand, are actually more closely related to civets and mongoose.
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| African Wild Dogs at Naankuse, relaxed after a day of sun. |
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| A red wolf taking a stroll. (Wikipedia) |
Two: Spotted hyenas are typically significantly larger than African wild dogs. Spotted hyenas range in weight from 98lbs - 135lbs, standing at 28-36 inches at the shoulder. To give you context, that's larger than a big Rottweiler. African wild dogs on the other hand are typically 40lbs-80lbs and 30 inches at the shoulder. That's roughly the size of a Labrador retriever. Bit of a difference!
Three: You can see it pretty well in the above picture - but spotted hyenas, as their name suggests, have spots! Imagine that. The African wild dogs on the other hand, have a mix of white, black and brown painted splotches. They also typically have a white tipped tail.
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| I would not want to be between these two! Hyena, left, AWD, right. (carnivoraforum.com) |
Four: Spotted (not brown) hyenas are significantly more aggressive than African wild dogs. Hyenas have been known to take on animals like lions, yikes! African wild dogs are very shy. Often, people mistake their great hunting skills for being aggressive. Not the case, my friends.
What do they have in common? Well, they both have extremely strong jaw muscles and teeth. They can both eat bone like it's a saltine cracker. Respect, y'all. These guys are pretty great!
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