The socio-ecology and social behaviour of the brown hyaena Hyaena Brunnea, Thunberg, 1820 in the southern Kalahari.

The brown hyaena in the southern Kalahari is predominantly a scavenger of mammal remains, supplementing its diet with wild fruits as well as other vertebrate remains, insects, birds' eggs and the occasional small animal which is killed. Brown hyaenas are solitary foragers, but most of them live in small groups which inhabit large territories. The rest of the population consists of dispersing subadults and nomadic adult males. Territory size is mainly affected by the dispersion pattern of the food in the territory and group size by the "quality" of the food. Mating is carried out between nomadic males and group-living females and group-living males help with the feeding of cubs. Communication is carried out mainly through olfactory and visual means. Subadult recruitment and emigration are mainly responsible for group size regulation. Evolutionary trends in Hyaenid behaviour are briefly discussed as is the management of the brown hyaena in the southern Kalahari and other areas.

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Pretoria

Year dc:date.issued

1981

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Bothma, Jacobus du P.

• UCTD
• Socio-ecology
• Brown hyaena (Hyaena brunnea)

Statement dc:rights

• © 2021 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/2263/82484

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/82484