1. Hyena Facts
 So these are the spotted hyenas, introduce those on display at the moment.
Names, sexes, ages (ask keepers for info). General information, 3 ½ month
average gestation, average of 1-4 in each litter, up to 190 pounds. Avg.
lifespan 25 years. Most social of all of the carnivores.
 4 species of hyena, aardwolf, striped, spotted, and brown. Spotted are of the
least concern when it comes to conservation.
 Female hyenas are larger than males; they are also more dominant 
matriarchal societies of 4 to 50 hyenas. Even the lowest ranking female
outranks the highest ranking male.
 Hyenas appear to be a bit stumpy, with their short back legs they can’t leap
over the moat in front of us to get to us or the addax/roan antelope, but can
still run up to 40 miles per hour. Their oddly curved rears actually do them
well; it is harder for predators (lions) to catch them when being chased.
 Ask if they’ve seen the lion king. Continue, hyenas get a bad reputation
because of the movie, but in reality they aren’t nearly as nasty or vicious as
the movie makes them seem. Explain to children that they aren’t actually ‘bad
guys.’
 Hyenas can eat almost anything. They only scavenge for about 50% of their
food, the rest is hunted themselves. Included in what they scavenge for is
sometimes even insects, berries, and leftover kills. They have strong enough
jaws to snap bones and strong enough stomachs to digest them. They have
the strongest jaws of all mammals, with only alligators and crocodiles having
stronger jaws in all of the animal kingdom. Have also been known to eat up to
30 pounds in one sitting
 IF adults ask, (sometimes they question a hyena being a female because she
has ‘parts’) explain the pseudo-penis. Female hyenas have pseudo-penises,
which are actually enlarged clitorises as well as pseudo-testes, which are
enlarged labia. In order for them to allow mating, they must retract their
enlarged parts making rape physically impossible.
 Some scientists actually consider hyenas to be some of the most intelligent
animals on the planet. They have a number of different calls that mean
different things, almost like their own ‘language.’ There is a lot of research
currently being dedicated to spotted hyena calls. Explain that hyenas actually
do “laugh” but not because anything is funny, because they are warning
others to stay away.
 Although they look more dog-like than cat-like, they are more closely related
to cats than they are to dogs. (If adults, sometimes explain in depth carnivora
 feliformia/caniformia  hyenidae. So explain that a hyena is about as
closely related to a lion as a dog would be to a skunk. From this cat-like
ancestry hyenas get their scent marking instincts, which is also another form
of intelligent communication.