Hyena Communication

This article "Why Do Hyenas Laugh" discusses how hyenas communicate vocally. Kay E. Holekamp, a zoologist, studied their behavior when she spotted them Kenya. There was an old, dying buffalo and the two hyenas that spotted the buffalo first tore away at it and the wailing of the buffalo attracted over 20 hyenas. Throughout this process, Holekamp observed that the hyenas that had first discovered the buffalo were silent as to have the food for themselves, but the other hyenas that had "family" signalled the location with whooping calls. There seems to be various calls of communication among hyenas including whooping, giggling, lowing, alarm rumbling and squittering. In particular, this article discussed the giggling which can only be heard by the spotted hyenas, not brown and striped ones. This giggling can be heard from hyenas "after being attacked and while being chased around by another hyena who wants the carcass part the giggler is carrying around in its mouth; the giggling hyena seems to be signaling that it wants its social partner to desist and leave it alone." You can hear the actual vocals of various hyenas on this website.

I found this article particularly noteworthy because it's interesting to learn about the communication of animals, relating to the sounds they make, to begin with, but hyenas, in particular, have various calls that they use and the pitch of their calls are so distinct and sharp. Their communication is so efficient which makes them great predators, it is no wonder that many animals fear these carnivorous creatures. Not only are they vicious alone, but the packs that they travel in are enough to take down animals much bigger than them. On a side note, this article reminded me of the hyenas in the movie The Lion King that kept laughing. The children's movie exaggerated the hyena laugh, making it quite amusing.