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 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 ‘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.

Glacial/Interglacial Size Variation in Fossil Spotted Hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) from Britain

1989 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard G. Klein ◽  
Katharine Scott
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Temperature Variation ◽  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Crocuta Crocuta ◽  
Bergmann’S Rule ◽  
Spotted Hyena ◽  
Bergmann's Rule ◽  
Spotted Hyenas ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractThe lower carnassial lengths of spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) in 12 late Pleistocene samples from Britain indicate that, on average, local hyenas of the last (Devensian) glaciation were significantly larger than their last-interglaciation (Ipswichian) counterparts. Together with the tendency for spotted hyena carnassial length to increase with latitude in present-day Africa, this suggests that spotted hyena body size is inversely related to temperature, as predicted by Bergmann's rule. The implication is that spotted hyena carnassial length can be used as an independent gauge of Pleistocene temperature variation, though the combined African and British data imply that the relationship between carnassial length and temperature is curvilinear, such that as temperature declines, equal amounts of further decline produce progressively smaller increases in average carnassial length.

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.

Taphonomic and zooarchaeological implications of spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) bone accumulations in Kenya: a modern behavioral ecological approach

Paleobiology ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 289-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah W. Lansing ◽  
Susan M. Cooper ◽  
Erin E. Boydston ◽  
Kay E. Holekamp
Keyword(s):  
Behavioral Ecology ◽  
Prey Species ◽  
Species Abundance ◽  
Crocuta Crocuta ◽  
Site Formation ◽  
Behavioral Variability ◽  
Spotted Hyena ◽  
Site Formation Processes ◽  
Spotted Hyenas ◽  
Bone Accumulation

The significant impact of extant carnivores, particularly spotted hyenas, on the depositional history and physical characteristics of archaeofaunal and paleontological assemblages is well recognized. We focus on the behavioral ecology of extant spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) in relation to bone accumulations produced by one East African clan at communal dens. Limbs and skulls of prey animals more frequently appear at dens than do other carcass portions. These items reflect the relative abundance of prey species near dens; carnivore remains are poorly represented. Comparative analysis reveals that bones are deposited far more slowly (<7 carcass portions per month) and accumulations tend to be smaller at Crocuta dens than at dens of either brown (Parahyaena brunnea) or striped (Hyaena hyaena) hyenas. We propose that extant Crocuta bone accumulation rates and sizes are likely affected by prey species abundance, clan size, social interactions within the clan, and the type and availability of den sites. We also suggest that the potential for intraspecific behavioral variability in bone accumulation patterns is important when comparisons are made among spotted hyena populations and across hyena species. For example, accumulation patterns may be dramatically influenced by the temporal span, potentially ranging from days to hundreds or thousands of years, in which bones are collected, depending on the species-specific history of occupation at a given site. Understanding the behavioral and ecological variability likely to influence bone accumulation patterns at dens used by different hyaenids will allow taphonomists and zooarchaeologists to refine their knowledge of mechanisms underlying site formation processes and potential causes of variability in deeper-time den assemblages.

scholarly journals Post-weaning maternal effects and the evolution of female dominance in the spotted hyena

2009 ◽  
Vol 276 (1665) ◽  
pp. 2291-2298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather E. Watts ◽  
Jaime B. Tanner ◽  
Barbara L. Lundrigan ◽  
Kay E. Holekamp
Keyword(s):  
Crocuta Crocuta ◽  
Female Dominance ◽  
Spotted Hyena ◽  
Compensatory Mechanism ◽  
Feeding Apparatus ◽  
Skull Development ◽  
Spotted Hyenas ◽  
Selection For ◽  
Maternal Presence ◽  
New Hypothesis

Mammalian societies in which females dominate males are rare, and the factors favouring the evolution of female dominance have yet to be clearly identified. We propose a new hypothesis for the evolution of female dominance and test its predictions with empirical data from the spotted hyena ( Crocuta crocuta ), a well-studied species characterized by female dominance. We suggest that constraints imposed by the development of a feeding apparatus specialized for bone cracking, in combination with the intensive feeding competition characteristic of spotted hyenas, led to the evolution of female dominance. Specifically, we propose that protracted development of the feeding apparatus in young hyenas led to selection for increased aggressiveness in females as a compensatory mechanism for mothers to secure food access for their young after weaning. Our analyses yielded results consistent with this hypothesis. Morphological and behavioural measurements indicate that skull development is indeed protracted in this species; spotted hyenas do not achieve adult skull size or feeding performance capabilities until after sexual maturity. The period between weaning and completed skull development is particularly challenging, as indicated by high mortality. Finally, maternal presence between weaning and full skull maturity, as well as the relative ability of females to aggressively displace conspecifics from food, are important determinants of offspring survival.

A keystone predator at risk? Density and distribution of the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) in the Etosha National Park, Namibia

2009 ◽  
Vol 87 (10) ◽  
pp. 941-947 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina Trinkel
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Spatial Relationship ◽  
Crocuta Crocuta ◽  
Spotted Hyena ◽  
Migratory Species ◽  
Mathematical Correlation ◽  
Equus Burchelli ◽  
Spotted Hyenas ◽  
The Status ◽  
Connochaetes Taurinus

For wildlife management and conservation biology, it is important to be able to estimate the status and distribution of animals and to monitor their population trends. In the Etosha National Park, Namibia, there is a lack of knowledge about numbers and distribution of spotted hyenas ( Crocuta crocuta (Erxleben, 1777)) and factors regulating their population. To estimate hyena density and distribution, tape-recorded vocalizations (call-ups) were performed to attract hyenas in the central and eastern parts of Etosha. Eighty-five adult and subadult hyenas responded to the calls, with most of them responding in an area with high density of migratory ungulates, principally springbok ( Antidorcas marsupialis (Zimmermann, 1780)), wildebeest ( Connochaetes taurinus (Burchell, 1823)), and Burchell’s zebra ( Equus burchelli (Gray, 1824)). These migratory species are the main prey of spotted hyenas in Etosha. There was a strong spatial relationship between hyena density and migratory prey biomass. Based on this mathematical correlation, I estimated 203 ± 79 hyenas, i.e., 2.7 ± 1.1 hyenas/100 km2, in the central and eastern parts of Etosha. Applying this correlation to the western part of the park, it was possible to estimate 339 ± 176 spotted hyenas, corresponding to an overall density of 2.1 ± 1.0 hyenas/100 km2, in the whole Etosha National Park.

scholarly journals Late Pleistocene spotted hyena den sites and specialized rhinoceros scavengers in the karstified Zechstein areas of the Thuringian Mountains (Central Germany)

2015 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-45
Author(s):  
Cajus Diedrich
Keyword(s):  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Crocuta Crocuta ◽  
Spotted Hyena ◽  
Central Germany

Abstract. Crocuta crocuta spelaea (Goldfuss 1823) craniale und postcraniale Elemente wurden in der Pößneck-Region der Zechsteinkarst-Region im Thüringer Wald (Zentral-Deutschland) in historischer Zeit in der Wüsten Scheuer Kleinhöhle/Abri bei Döbritz ausgegraben. An der nahegelegenen Krölpa-Gipskarstfundstelle wurde ein von eiszeitlichen Fleckenhyänen angefressener Kadaver eines Wollnashorns gefunden. Die geringe Anzahl der Megafaunenreste aus der Wüsten Scheuer Höhlung/Abri umfasst angefressene Coelodonta antiquitatis-Reste und wird hier als Kommunalhorst identifiziert. An beiden Horst/Fressplätzen wurden jeweils weitere Beutetierreste angereichert. Diese stammen von einer Kaltzeitfauna (Spätpleistozän) mit seltenen Knochenresten von M. primigenius, vorwiegend C. antiquitatis, E. c. przewalskii, und wenigen B. priscus sowie R. tarandus. Die Dominanz des Wollnashorns, gefolgt vom Bison und Przewlaksi-Pferd, ist typisch für Hyänen-Knochenakkumulationen in europäischen Mittelgebirgen, wo das Mammut aufgrund der Topographie nahezu abwesend war. In den verkarsteten Thüringer Bergen können neun spätpleistozäne Hyänenhorste identifiziert werden. Reine Hyänenhorste finden sich im Zechstein-zeitlichen Gipskarst und den Kalkstein-Karstgebieten von Bad Köstritz, Krölpa sowie den Fuchsluken-Höhlungen bei Saalfeld. In der Wüsten Scheuer treten diese überlagernd mit mittelpaläolithischen Lagerplätzen auf, wie auch in der Ilsenhöhle bei Ranis und der Lindenthaler Hyänenhöhle bei Gera, was auf Konflikte um Beute und Unterkünfte hindeutet. An diesen Höhlenfundplätzen wurden Knochenreste historisch inkorrekt als reine „Neanderthaler-Küchenabfälle“ oder als „Knochenwerkzeuge“ (z.B. „Hohlschaber“ = von Hyänen angefressene Wollnashorn-Tibien) interpretiert.

scholarly journals Pastoralist activities affect the movement patterns of a large African carnivore, the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta)

2019 ◽  
Vol 100 (6) ◽  
pp. 1941-1953 ◽  
Author(s):  
David S Green ◽  
Kay E Holekamp
Keyword(s):  
Protected Area ◽  
Social Rank ◽  
Movement Patterns ◽  
Crocuta Crocuta ◽  
Anthropogenic Activity ◽  
Spotted Hyena ◽  
Large Carnivores ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Gps Collars ◽  
Spotted Hyenas

Abstract Populations of large carnivores are declining in many parts of the world due to anthropogenic activity. Some species of large carnivores, however, are able to coexist with people by altering their behavior. Altered behaviors may be challenging to identify in large carnivores because these animals are typically cryptic, nocturnal, live at low densities, and because changes in their behavior may be subtle or emerge slowly over many years. We studied the effects of livestock presence on the movements of one large carnivore, the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta). We fit 22 adult female spotted hyenas with GPS collars to quantify their movements in areas with and without livestock or herders present, in and around a protected area in southwestern Kenya. We investigated anthropogenic, social, and ecological effects on the speed of movement, distances traveled, long-distance movements, and extraterritorial excursions by spotted hyenas. Hyenas living primarily within the protected area, but in the presence of livestock and herders, moved faster, traveled over longer distances, and were more likely to be within their territories than did conspecifics living in areas without livestock and herders. Hyenas of low social rank were more likely than hyenas of high social rank to engage in long-distance travel events, and these were more likely to occur when prey were scarce. The movement patterns of this large African carnivore indicate a flexibility that may allow them to persist in landscapes that are becoming increasingly defined by people.

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