Baby hyena gets scared and makes adorable sounds

Although being hand-reared got this baby Striped Hyena very accustomed to humans, there was something about this one particular person that she just didn't trust, making her hide and act in a defensive manner, making the most adorable sounds. It's true that her hiding place is far from ideal, but the two chairs helped making her feel safer. As soon as the person left the area, she started behaving normally again.Show more

Although there once was a large number of hyena species, nowadays there are only four extant species in the Hyaenidae family. The Striped Hyena (Hyaena hyaena) shares the Hyaena genus with one other species, the Brown Hyena (Hyaena brunnea), although the latter has been placed in the Parahyaena genus in the past. The Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta) is the largest of them all. The small Aardwolf (Proteles cristata), in spite of belonging to the Hyaenidae family, is not considered a true hyena.

The Striped Hyena is the smallest of the true hyenas. In the Summer, the coat is much shorter and coarser than during the Winter, and lacks underfur, but the mane remains large. It is a nocturnal animal that typically lives alone or in pairs, being monogamous, although groups of up to seven individuals have been recorded.

Unlike the other members of the Hyaenidae family, that occur only in the African continent, the Striped Hyena can be found in the Middle East, the Caucasus and central Asia, as well as in most of west Africa, and most of the Sahara, split into many isolated populations.
Although hyenas might somewhat resemble dogs, they are actually more closely related to cats, belonging to the Feliformia suborder, along with mongoose, meerkat, fossa, civet, genet, etc.

Striped Hyenas are listed as Near Threatened, having a wider distribution range than the other members of their family, however, very little is known about their status and ecology.