Naturally, the larger the carcass, the greater the likelihood that both spotted hyenas and lions would be present, as these larger carcasses last longer and present greater opportunities for exploitation. However, the lions showed a distinct preference for larger carcasses, ignoring the smaller carcasses almost entirely.
The results of their research indicate that, as was expected, both spotted hyenas and lions will show high levels of scavenging where carrion is available. (None of the animals concerned apart from the chickens were killed for this study and most of the larger animals were found dead on the reserve). Researchers used a range of carcasses of different sizes, including chickens, medium-sized antelope, buffalo, rhino, and elephant and monitored the feeding activity through the use of motion-triggered cameras. As the authors explain, this research is particularly relevant for in small, fenced protected areas where populations of apex predators are growing and competing over restricted resources.įor two years, researchers observed the interactions between lions and spotted hyenas feeding on carcasses in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, as well as the feeding behaviours of spotted hyenas in Mkhuze Game Reserve (where, at the time when the research was conducted, lions were not present). Here researchers expanded this to include other shared food resources, providing insight into their dynamics in a true scavenging sense in that either lions or hyenas did not kill the carcass/carrion concerned. Now, researchers from the University of Grenada have further unravelled the dynamics at play between these two apex predators in closed-system reserves in South Africa.Īs a general rule, previous research into how lions and hyenas share food resources, as well as the mechanisms that reduce the effects of this competition, have been focussed on living prey and kleptoparasitism.
While both species are active predators, lions and spotted hyenas will readily steal kills from the other (kleptoparasitism), as well as compete to scavenge on existing carcasses.
These dynamics are fluid, and the dominant species in any individual scenario is determined mostly by numbers and, in particular, the presence of male lions. The fractious and competitive relationship between lions and spotted hyenas is well-documented and has been observed across Africa wherever the two species are present in the same place.
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