138 CENTRAL AFRICAN GAME AND ITS SPOOR. 



SPOTTED HYi^NA (Hyaena crocuta). 



Native Names. 



Chinyanja Fisi. Chitonga Pundu. 



Chiyao Lituni. Swahili Fisi. 



Chikunda Kuzumba. Chibisa Chimbwe. 



Zulu (Ngoni) .... Impisi. Chiwemba Chimbwe. 



Food. 



Bones and flesh of any kind of dead animal, but seldom known to seize any- 

 thing alive. 



Nothing in the way of offal, skin, or bone appears to come amiss to it or to be too 

 indigestible. It will not, however, eat an animal's horns, but such dainties as an 

 animal's or even elephant's skin dried hard as wood would be eaten greedily. 



We have noticed a thigh bone of an elephant gnawed in two by these animals, 

 and cases have been known of them attacking a sleeping native at night. 



Spoor. 



As we have already said, a large hyaena is much the same size as that of a leopard, 

 but distinguishable from it by the claw-marks and also the position of the four toe pads, 

 especially the two outer ones, which come further back than those of leopard. 



The dung is nearly always white and easily distinguished from that of leopard. 



Habitat. 

 May occur anywhere. Generally where there are lions, as they finish up the 

 kill when the lion has left, and sometimes follow him about from place to place. 



Habits. 



Lie up during the day in cover, or in a warthog or antbear hole, coming out 

 at night. 



Sometimes may be seen at dusk just after leaving cover. 



In Central Africa they generally lie up in holes, and are thus seldom put up or 

 seen at all during the day, but in a desert country where there are no holes to rest in 

 they have to lie in clumps of grass or in bush. 



They are often heard at night, but never occur in the large numbers that are 

 heard in Northern Africa or Somaliland. 



The striped or laughing hyaena does not occur, as far as we are aware, as we 

 have never heard him in Central Africa. 



