Hyena

Striped hyena, a species of hyena, native to North and East Africa, the Middle East, the Caucasus, Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent.

Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta) / Hyène tachetée / Image by Gerhard Theron from flickr

The Spotted Hyena | Crocuta crocuta

The topic of “top carnivores” often comes up for discussion, and for the purpose of comparison in this article, we are looking at Africa’s land mammals, therefore excluding killing machines such as Nile crocodiles and Great White sharks. So, of the high-profile carnivores that roam the wilderness areas of Africa, which would be considered to be the most successful? Lion? Leopard? Cheetah? Painted hunting dog? Or perhaps spotted hyena?