Wildcast

My latest release is a film on Spotted Hyenas, “Hyaena Queen” or “Hyenas at War” (the US version), where I developed this incredible relationship with a clan. I was taken on as a clan member, getting closer to hyaenas than anybody has ever done. So it’s not surprising I still carry this huge desire to see and be with them.

Malilangwe has a very healthy hyaena population. Hyaena’s biggest threat are lions but with their numbers being down the hyaenas are doing really well.

I’m really looking forward to some interesting interactions with lions as the hyaenas take the rule of law into their own hands.

When following the wild dogs out hunting a few weeks ago they encountered a lone hyaena and the whole pack gave chase sending the hyaena packing. But then suddenly the wild dogs had turned tail and came tearing back past me, this time with 7 hyaenas on their heels. The wild dogs had run straight into a hyaena den.

This den had 8 cubs younger than 3 months old and 5 under a year old. And adults? Well I’m not sure how many but probably another 15 individuals. This makes for a very substantial clan, a lot bigger than the 6 in my film.

The day after they had chased the dogs we decided to spend the night at the hyaena den. Several adults were around early in the evening but left the den in control of the cubs for the rest of the night. I like to think I know a lot about hyaena behaviour and so once the adults left I thought it was lights out until we would be woken by the groaning call of mothers coming back from patrol/hunting and calling their cubs out to suckle. I hadn’t been asleep a few minutes when I was woken with my vehicle rocking slightly. Oh….oh….. that means hyaena cubs under the car chewing on brake pipes. The more you chase them away the more they come back. And sleep just doesn’t happen ‘cos left to their own devices, you end up leaving the den in the morning only to discover the brakes don’t work.

Hyaenas just love to chew rubber. Any rubber. I suppose it’s all exercise for the strongest jaws in the world.

Those jaws sure made short work of that hippo carcass down at Malilangwe dam some time ago.

And ofcourse if you looking for humour in the bush, find the hyaenas. They’re not called laughing hyaenas for nothing. Their vocalisations over a carcass are full of hyaena excitement and laughter. And they’re always keen to play with each other or even wild dogs should they venture into the area. In this case at Malilangwe dam 5 wild dogs arrived at the hippo carcass. They weren’t allowed to feed but a young hyaena couldn’t resist the temptation of hassling them but it turned out more the wild dogs were hassling it. And each time the wild dogs left the hyaena it turned and came back for more. They just have to play.

They are such fun, so intelligent and just amazing animals and I’m looking forward to spending more time filming them in the future.

Hyenas at War will be shown on National Geographic in the US at the following times:

Saturday, September 2, 2006, at 10PM
Sunday, September 3, 2006, 1AM
Sunday, September 10, 2006, 1PM