Thanatological behavior in striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena)

Abstract

In recent decades, reports on responses to death and dying individuals in non-human animals have been increasing. Here, we report the case of a striped hyena who refrained from eating a juvenile conspecific carcass in its territory. We inferred that the juvenile was an offspring of the individual. Although the hyena discovered the carcass several days before any other conspecific, other than maintaining vigilance over it and sniffing it repeatedly, it did not consume it; only an unfamiliar hyena did so. This is the first documentation of thanatological behavior in striped hyenas.