Are young hyenas just misunderstood?

Although young hyenas don’t automatically kill their same-sex siblings, tough times can promote siblicide.

Golla, W., H. Hofer, and M.L. East. 1999. Within-litter sibling aggression in spotted hyaenas: Effect of maternal nursing, sex and age. Animal Behaviour 58(October):715.

Smale, L., K.E. Holekamp, and P.A. White. 1999. Siblicide revisited in the spotted hyaena: Does it conform to obligate or facultative models? Animal Behaviour 58(September):545.

Frank, L.G., S.E. Glickman, and P. Licht. 1991. Fatal sibling aggression, precocial development, and androgens in neonatal spotted hyenas. Science 252(May 3):702.

Laurence G. Frank
University of California, Berkeley
Field Station for Behavioral Research
3210 Tolman Hall
Berkeley, CA 94720

Waltraud Golla
Max-Planck-Institut für Verhaltensphysiologie
Postfach 1564
D-82305 Seewiesen
Germany

Kay E. Holekamp
Michigan State University
Department of Zoology
East Lansing, MI 48824

Laura Smale
Michigan State University
Department of Psychology
East Lansing, MI 48824

From Science News, Vol. 156, No. 18, October 30, 1999, p. 278. Copyright © 1999, Science Service.