Top predators at war—Ice Age lions versus competing spotted hyenas

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cajus G. Diedrich
Keyword(s):  
Ice Age ◽  
Top Predators ◽  
Spotted Hyenas

scholarly journals Extinctions of Late Ice Age Cave Bears as a Result of Climate/Habitat Change and Large Carnivore Lion/Hyena/Wolf Predation Stress in Europe

ISRN Zoology ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cajus G. Diedrich
Keyword(s):  
Ice Age ◽  
Crocuta Crocuta ◽  
Cave Bear ◽  
Large Carnivore ◽  
Wolf Predation ◽  
Top Predators ◽  
Feeding Technique ◽  
Spotted Hyenas ◽  
Inner Organs ◽  
Large Predators

Predation onto cave bears (especially cubs) took place mainly by lion Panthera leo spelaea (Goldfuss), as nocturnal hunters deep in the dark caves in hibernation areas. Several cave bear vertebral columns in Sophie’s Cave have large carnivore bite damages. Different cave bear bones are chewed or punctured. Those lets reconstruct carcass decomposition and feeding technique caused only/mainly by Ice Age spotted hyenas Crocuta crocuta spelaea, which are the only of all three predators that crushed finally the long bones. Both large top predators left large tooth puncture marks on the inner side of cave bear vertebral columns, presumably a result of feeding first on their intestines/inner organs. Cave bear hibernation areas, also demonstrated in the Sophie’s Cave, were far from the cave entrances, carefully chosen for protection against the large predators. The predation stress must have increased on the last and larger cave bear populations of U. ingressus (extinct around 25.500 BP) in the mountains as result of disappearing other seasonally in valleys migrating mammoth steppe fauna due to climate change and maximum glacier extensions around 22.000 BP.

scholarly journals Palaeopopulations of Late Pleistocene Top Predators in Europe: Ice Age Spotted Hyenas and Steppe Lions in Battle and Competition about Prey

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cajus G. Diedrich
Keyword(s):  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Crocuta Crocuta ◽  
Spotted Hyena ◽  
Cave Bear ◽  
Top Predators ◽  
Modern Analogue ◽  
Spotted Hyenas ◽  
Steppe Bison

Late Pleistocene spotted hyena Crocuta crocuta spelaea (Goldfuss, 1823) and steppe lion Panthera leo spelaea (Goldfuss, 1810) were top predators in Central Europe. The fossil record (2.303 hyena/1.373 lion bones = ratio 3/1) from 106 cave and open air sites demonstrates comparable associations to modern African hyenas/lions resulting in competition about prey and territory. Cannibalism within extinct spotted hyenas is well documented, including two individual skeletons. Those hyenas produced bone accumulations at dens. Feeding specializations on different megamammal groups are demonstrated for Late Pleistocene hyenas whose prey partly overlaps (e.g., cave bears) with those of lions and wolves. At most fossil sites, 1–3% of the lion remains indicate scavenging of lions by hyenas. The larger Late Pleistocene felids focussed on cervids (reindeers specialization during the high glacial = LGM), on bovids (steppe bison/aurochs), and possibly on saiga antelope and on the cave bear, hunting deep in caves during their hibernations and targeting cubs. The cave bear feeding was the target of all three top predators (lions, hyenas, and wolves) in the Late Pleistocene boreal forests which caused deathly conflicts in caves between them, especially with lions/hyenas and herbivorous cave bears that have no modern analogue.

scholarly journals Ice Age geomorphological Ahorn Valley and Ailsbach River terrace evolution – and its importance for the cave use possibilities by cave bears, top predators (hyenas, wolves and lions) and humans (Neanderthals, Late Palaeolithics) in the Frankonian Karst: Case studies in the Sophie’s Cave near Kirchahorn, Bavaria

2013 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 162-174
Author(s):  
Cajus Diedrich
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
River Terrace ◽  
Top Predators ◽  
Cave Use

Abstract. Die Sophienhöhle in Oberfranken, Bayern (Süddeutschland) erodierte in die massiven Ober-Jura Riff-Dolomite und ist eine perfektes Modell inklusive aller drei Höhlengenese-Stadien von 1. Ponor-Höhle, 2. Intermediate zeitweilig geflutete Höhle, 3. Trocken-Höhle. Die Schlüsselposition entlang des Ahorn-Tales, einem Seitental des größeren Wiesent-Flusstales, erlaubt eine genaue Höhlengenese und Verfüllungsrekonstruktion, die bereits im Pliozän begann. Die Hauptverfüllung mit Flussterrassen-Relikt-Sedimentserien fand im Mittel- bis Spät-Pleistozän statt. Sieben Höhlen-Genese und Verfüllungs-Stadien zwischen dem Pliozän und ausgehenden Spät-Pleistozän können in den Höhlenlagen zwischen 440 to 375 ü. N.N. unterschieden werden. Die Eintiefungsschritte des Ailsbachs im Ahorn-Tal sind wichtig für das Verständnis der Zugangsmöglichkeit der talnahen Höhlen für Eiszeittiere und paläolithische Menschen in verschiedenen Tälern von Oberfranken zu unterschiedlichen Zeiten, sowie den generellen Höhleneingangs-Öffnungen und -Schließungen während der Entwässerungs-Phasen in den Tälern.

Steppe lion remains imported by Ice Age spotted hyenas into the Late Pleistocene Perick Caves hyena den in northern Germany

2009 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
pp. 361-374 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cajus G. Diedrich
Keyword(s):  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Panthera Leo ◽  
Northern Germany ◽  
Nw Germany ◽  
Bone Material ◽  
Upper Pleistocene ◽  
Central European ◽  
Cave Bear ◽  
Spotted Hyenas

AbstractUpper Pleistocene remains of the Ice Age steppe lion Panthera leo spelaea (Goldfuss, 1810) have been found in the Perick Caves, Sauerland Karst, NW Germany. Bones from many hyenas and their imported prey dating from the Lower to Middle Weichselian have also been recovered from the Perick Cave hyena den. These are commonly cracked or exhibit deep chew marks. The absence of lion cub bones, in contrast to hyena and cave bear cub remains in the Perick Caves, and other caves of northern Germany, excludes the possibility that P. leo spelaea used the cave for raising cubs. Only in the Wilhelms Cave was a single skeleton of a cub found in a hyena den. Evidence of the chewing, nibbling and cracking of lion bones and crania must have resulted from the importation and destruction of lion carcasses (4% of the prey fauna). Similar evidence was preserved at other hyena den caves and open air sites in Germany. The bone material from the Perick and other Central European caves points to antagonistic hyena and lion conflicts, similar to clashes of their modern African relatives.

scholarly journals ‘Neanderthal bone flutes’: simply products of Ice Age spotted hyena scavenging activities on cave bear cubs in European cave bear dens

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 140022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cajus G. Diedrich
Keyword(s):  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Spotted Hyena ◽  
Southeastern Europe ◽  
Cave Bear ◽  
Large Carnivore ◽  
Lower Jaw ◽  
Spotted Hyenas

Punctured extinct cave bear femora were misidentified in southeastern Europe (Hungary/Slovenia) as ‘Palaeolithic bone flutes’ and the ‘oldest Neanderthal instruments’. These are not instruments, nor human made, but products of the most important cave bear scavengers of Europe, hyenas. Late Middle to Late Pleistocene (Mousterian to Gravettian) Ice Age spotted hyenas of Europe occupied mainly cave entrances as dens (communal/cub raising den types), but went deeper for scavenging into cave bear dens, or used in a few cases branches/diagonal shafts (i.e. prey storage den type). In most of those dens, about 20% of adult to 80% of bear cub remains have large carnivore damage. Hyenas left bones in repeating similar tooth mark and crush damage stages, demonstrating a butchering/bone cracking strategy. The femora of subadult cave bears are intermediate in damage patterns, compared to the adult ones, which were fully crushed to pieces. Hyenas produced round–oval puncture marks in cub femora only by the bone-crushing premolar teeth of both upper and lower jaw. The punctures/tooth impact marks are often present on both sides of the shaft of cave bear cub femora and are simply a result of non-breakage of the slightly calcified shaft compacta. All stages of femur puncturing to crushing are demonstrated herein, especially on a large cave bear population from a German cave bear den.

Martian pole reveals ice age cycles

Nature ◽  
2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Peplow
Keyword(s):  
Ice Age
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