Brown Hyena
Scientific name Parahyaena brunnea
Adult size
- Weight
- ♀F 37.7 kg ♂M 40.2 kg
- Length
- ♀F 1.4 m ♂M 1.4 m
- Shoulder height
- ♀F 0.79 m ♂M 0.79 m
- Top speed chase
- ♀F 50 km/h ♂M 50 km/h
- Lifespan
- Brown Hyenas can reach about 12 years in the wild and about 13 years in captivity.
Represented by Nossob Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (Southern Kalahari), South Africa
Brown hyenas live in arid and semi-arid southern Africa, including the Kalahari, Namib, Karoo, dry savannas, shrublands, and desert-edge coast. They can use extremely dry country by moving at night, reading scent, and feeding heavily from carrion and durable food remains rather than relying only on active hunts.
The range
Three regions, one species.
The brown hyena doesn't live in one place. Across the map below, each region has its own pressures, prey, and politics — same biology, different worlds.
South Africa
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (Southern Kalahari)
Kalahari adult-male body-mass evidence and dry-country landscape context.
Source ↗Namibia
Namib Desert coast
Classic arid brown-hyena range; coastal foraging belongs to species context rather than Nossob's Kalahari home.
Source ↗Botswana
Central Kalahari / dry savanna systems
Southern African dry-country range used only as species context, not Nossob's home-region claim.
Source ↗
Daily life
What the brown hyena does, day to day.
Diet, social behaviour, climate — the everyday biology that shapes how this species hunts, defends and survives.
Diet
Mainly scavenged large-vertebrate remains, supplemented by wild fruits, insects, eggs, and occasional small prey.
Social life
Clan territory with mostly solitary nocturnal foraging. Scent marking at latrines and paste-mark sites helps brown hyenas share space without moving as one visible hunting group.
Climate
Dry savanna, semi-desert, shrubland, and arid southern African landscapes.
Wyld Trivia
Five questions. Most people get them wrong.
But you're not most people.
Tap to reveal.
Is a brown hyena just a smaller spotted hyena?
Show meHideNo. Brown hyenas are more solitary, more nocturnal, and more scavenger-led than spotted hyenas. They still use clan territories and scent marks, but their strength comes from patient night routes rather than a visible hunting clan.
How heavy is an adult male brown hyena?
Show meHideIn a Kalahari study, 11 adult male brown hyenas averaged 40.2 kg, with a measured range from 35.0 to 43.3 kg.
Why does a brown hyena work best at night?
Show meHideBrown hyenas live in hot dry landscapes where night movement saves energy and helps them search long routes for carrion, scent marks, and safe approach lines. Daylight heat and tight close-contact fights are much less favourable.
What does a brown hyena eat besides carcasses?
Show meHideCarrion is central, but brown hyenas are flexible. Their diet can include wild fruits, insects, eggs, and small prey alongside tough remains from larger animals.
How can brown hyenas share a clan territory while foraging alone?
Show meHideThey use shared routes, latrines, paste marks, and scent-marked places to hold a territory without moving as one big group.
The terrain
Where the brown hyena thrives.
Every animal is built for some places more than others. These are the ground, hours and weather where this species shows its best — and its worst.
Ground
- Dry savannaExcels
- Semi desertExcels
- ShrublandStrong
- Open grasslandStrong
- RockyStrong
- Dense forestAvoids
- SnowfieldAvoids
Hours
- NightExcels
- DuskExcels
- DawnStrong
- TwilightStrong
- DayAvoids
Weather
- DryExcels
- HotStrong
- ModerateStrong
- RainStruggles
- StormStruggles
- ColdAvoids
Five things you didn't know about the brown hyena.
Cited biology that shapes how the brown hyena hunts, fights, survives.
Brown hyenas are mostly nocturnal foragers that often travel alone, even though they use clan territories and shared scent-marking sites. Source ↗
In a Kalahari study, 11 adult male brown hyenas averaged 40.2 kg, with a 35.0-43.3 kg range. Source ↗
Brown hyenas differ from spotted hyenas: they are more solitary, more nocturnal, more scavenger-led, and more tied to scent-marked night routes. Source ↗
Brown hyenas live in hot dry landscapes where night movement saves energy and helps them search long routes for carrion, scent marks, and safe approach lines. Source ↗
Carrion is central, but brown hyenas are flexible: their diet can include wild fruits, insects, eggs, and small prey alongside tough remains from larger animals. Source ↗
About the brown hyena
Where the brown hyena sits on the tree of life.
Class
Mammalia
Warm-blooded animals with fur or hair that feed their young milk.
Order
Carnivora
Mostly meat-eating mammals — cats, dogs, bears and their relatives.
Family
Hyaenidae
The hyena family — bone-cracking jaws and complex social groups.
Species
Parahyaena brunnea
Brown Hyena — the species this page is about.
Brown Hyena
Every fact, cited.
Biology cited on this page comes from peer-reviewed zoology and the major species databases. Click through for the underlying study, dataset or assessment.
- portals.iucn.org · portals.iucn.org
- doi.org · doi.org
- Animal Diversity Web · Animal Diversity Web
- portals.iucn.org · portals.iucn.org
- Animal Diversity Web · Animal Diversity Web
