Meeting Fur the Hyena

During the past week one of our visits was to see this beautiful Brown Hyena (Parahyaena Brunnea). In this place, conservation and education about African animals is carried out. My reason for sharing this long post is for the case of "Fur", which is name of this naughty hyena, that was born in captivity. I will tell you a bit about the species .... the brown hyena (parahyaena brunnea) is a mammalian scavenger from the family Hyaenidae and they live in southern Africa in areas like the Kalahari desert, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe. According to the Red List of the IUCN (the International Union for the Conservation of Nature) in 2015, the species was almost threatened (Near Threatened) and today, according to the last reports, it is vulnerable, there are around 3500 individuals in the wild according to unofficial reports. The hyenas are animals that are very similar to dogs (suborder caniformia) but are more related to cats (suborder Feliformia). Their anatomy is evolved to break bones, dismember and reduce food into small pieces. This results in other small scavengers also being able to feed themselves. But without a doubt they can also hunt birds, wildebeest, snakes and antelopes, to name a few. They are nocturnal animals, with good vision, hearing and they generate a very characteristic sound similar to laughter. They are organized in large packs where the female is the one who leads them. Unfortunately for this species the number of individuals has been decreasing because people tend to eliminate them since they think they kill cattle when they find them feeding on the carcasses of livestock while some others believe they are pests. Undoubtedly, these animals are fundamental to the health of the ecosystem where they live, through the consumption of dead cattle, birds, etc. discarded by humans in the surroundings of villages, where basic needs such as landfills are scarce to none. Thereby these animals help in decreasing the probabilities of diseases in human population such as tuberculosis and anthrax.

Follow us on instagram here

And join us for the experience of a lifetime 

. 

. 

. 

. 

#VetStudentExperience #vetstudent #vetlife #veterinarian #vettech #vetnurse #veterinary #veterinarymedicine #VetstudentLife #Prevet #PrevetStudent #Hyena