The Earth is currently in its 6th mass extinction. Diverse animal species all around the world are dying at an alarming rate. Majority of this extinction, no surprise, is due to human activities. Whether it's driving animals out of their habitats or poaching animals for their skins and other various appendages, there is a clear lack of respect between humans and animals. This lack of respect may come from the inaccurate representation of animal in media and film.
A prime example of this misrepresentation is the spotted hyenas that served as the secondary antagonists in Disney’s 1994 animated classic, The Lion King. Influenced heavily by Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Disney’s The Lion King explores the coming of age of the young lion Simba, after the death of his father Mufasa, at the paws of his uncle Scar. The three spotted hyenas in the film, Shenzi, Bonzai and Ed all serve as Scar’s henchmen throughout most of the film.
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Throughout the film, the hyenas are seen causing chaos amongst the lions, who serve as the main protagonists of the film. Portrayed as dim-witted and mangy poachers, right from their introduction, the trio of hyenas is seen chasing our beloved lion cubs Simba and Nala to kill them. However, this is far from the reality of the situation.
Although the eternal rivalry between the lion and the hyena are accurately represented in The Lion King, the lions are the antagonists. Hyenas are scavengers, meaning that they’re able to eat and digest dead organisms found in their habitats. Scanning the floors of their habitats, a hyena can spend almost a day searching for food for either itself or its young.
When they’re not scavenging, hyenas have a very anomalous way of catching prey. Rather than killing their prey directly, like the other animals found in their habitat, hyenas chase their prey to exhaustion. Once exhausted, the helpless prey is eaten alive. Although gruesome, this tactic was developed by the hyenas due to the presence of lions.
It is well known that the lionesses of pride were responsible for bringing back dinner. However, lionesses don’t always necessarily have to catch and kill their prey to feed the rest of the pride. “But in fact, it is far more frequent that the lion will steal a kill from the hyenas,” says zoologist Kay Holekamp of Michigan State University, thus serving as a reason to why hyenas kill in such an unfashionable manner.
Hyenas literally catch the breath of their prey. Running at an astounding 40 miles per hour, their large hearts constitute for 1% of their total body weight, allowing their endurance to far surpass that of their preys. They hunt in large packs when going for large game, an opt for one on one chases when salivating over much smaller prey.
These qualities of the hyenas were not present at all in The Lion King. Granted, Simba and Nala were chased at great lengths. And yes, the trio was led by the female Shenzi, an accurate depiction seeing as how hyena packs were matriarchal. But, the movie focused more on antagonizing these animals, rather than showcasing the authenticity of this hot-blooded relationship. The most obvious reason for Disney to do this is because they wanted the movie to appeal to children, and the lion was a much more children friendly animal than the hyena.
However, this misinformation poses more of a threat to a child than a blessing. Misrepresentation leads to connotations that can be either bad or good. In the hyena’s case, these connotations are bad. Portrayed as “slobbery” and “sluggish”, these characterizations have come to define the hyena as an unloved animal and an animal that has not been as respected as it should be.
Although Shenzi, Bonzai and Ed’s relatives seem to be flourishing in the wild, their cousins, the striped hyenas and the brown hyenas are considered “Near Threatened” by the International Union for the conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The striped hyenas roam a large expanse of land that stretches from northern Africa to the Middle East. It is estimated that only 5,000 to 14,000 exist today in the wild. This small number is largely due to the way they are treated by humans. “Humans are consistently indicated as the major source of mortality…largely because the hyena is loathed as a grave robber, and because of incidents of damage to agriculture…and livestock,” says the IUCN.
An even smaller number of brown hyenas roam the lands of sub-Saharan Africa. Ranging from merely 5,000 to 8,000, oppositions with humans have taken a very seriously toll on the population of these animals. Negative attitudes towards the hyenas have caused them to suffer from methods like shooting to poisoning. Treated with great cruelty, these hyenas now find some sanction, ranched in protected and safe areas.
The common factor for both species to become so threatened is negative attitudes from humans. And although some of these attitudes are erected from the fact that these animals may be bad for the agricultural business, it could possibly have to do with their portrayal in film.
Hyenas are the stereotypical “mangy mutts” of the animal kingdom, often portrayed as slow-minded and slobbering. This portrayal cannot be farther from the truth. Hyenas must not only keep an ear up for any human who abhors these beautiful creatures, but also for the sneaky lions who continue to harass them. Hyenas are a crucial member of the ecological world, as their body mechanics allows them to clean up all the waste found in their environment. Hyenas are skilled hunters, equipped with the tools that they need to ensure that they can feed themselves and their packs. Hyenas are one of the few animal packs in the world that are structured as matriarchal. Simply put, hyenas are just survivors.
