Hyena

Hyena are one of the most misunderstood and under-appreciated species in the animal kingdom. One of the longest standing false accusations against the spotted hyena is that they are purely scavengers. Particularly that they steal most of their food from lions. These are myths -- and there is actually a lot more to the hyena than you might think! Often cast as being foolish and dull, perhaps due to the misunderstanding of their laugh or giggle vocalization, spotted hyenas show shocking signs of intelligence that rivals most wild animals in Africa. In fact hyena intelligence is thought to mimic the evolution of our own intelligence, with success through complex social behaviours driving brain evolution.