Scientific Name: Hyaena hyaena
Distribution: China, India, and the
Middle East
As scavengers, the striped hyena will eat any
dead animal or rotting fruit that it finds, but they
are also hunters. Scavengers play an impor tant role
in ecosystems by keeping them free of dead and
rotting carcasses, breaking down this organic matter
to return it to the system as nutrients, through
their faeces.
Even though the hyena looks and behaves
more like a dog, it is more closely related to the
cat family. When it feels excited or threatened, the
striped hyena will raise the hair on its back, to
create the illusion that they are much bigger than
they really are. This is a useful strategy for defending
themselves or their food from bigger animals such
as lions.
Distribution: Every continent except
Antarctica and Australia, typically in dry
areas, like savannahs and grasslands
The name “vulture” is given to 16 species of
scavenging birds of prey. Vultures are often seen as
ominous symbols, known to circle animals that are
about to die.
Vultures are scavengers, which means that they
feed on decaying animals and plants, and so their
function is a vital one–like the hyena, they keep the
world clean by removing dead and rotting bodies.
Researchers have discovered that the large
intestine of the vulture contains extremely strong
acid. This acid helps to break down the bacteria
in their rotting food without making them sick.
Most vultures have bald heads, so that bacteria
from their food doesn’t burrow into their feathers
and cause infections. Vultures have a superb sense
of sight and smell, and can detect a dead carcass
from 1.6 kilometres away!STRIPED HYENAS
VULTURES
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