Humans and Hyenas: Monster or Misunderstood

by Keith Somerville

Humans and Hyenas examines the origins and development of the relationship between the two to present an accurate and realistic picture of the hyena and its interactions with people. The hyena is one of the most maligned, misrepresented and defamed mammals. It is still, despite decades of research-led knowledge, seen as a skulking, cowardly scavenger rather than a successful hunter with complex family and communal systems.

Hyenas are portrayed as sex-shifting deviants, grave robbers and attackers of children in everything from African folk tales through Greek and Roman accounts of animal life, to Disney's The Lion King depicting hyenas with a lack of respect and disgust, despite the reality of their behaviour and social structures. Combining the personal, in-depth mining of scientific papers about the three main species and historical accounts, Keith Somerville delves into our relationship with hyenas from the earliest records from millennia ago, through the accounts by colonisers, to contemporary coexistence, where hyenas and humans are forced into ever closer proximity due to shrinking habitats and loss of prey. Are hyenas fated to retain their bad image or can their amazing ability to adapt to humans more successfully than lions and other predators lead to a shift in perspective?

This book will be of great interest to students and scholars in the environmental sciences, conservation biology, and wildlife and conservation issues.

262 pages, ebook

Published March 18, 2021

Reviews

[lilith · Rating 4 out of 5]

let me preface this by saying that i am not the target audience for this book, just a casual hyena lover, so some things were definitely lost on me.

that said, while i struggled to get through some of it, i enjoyed this. hyenas are endlessly fascinating to me, and i love getting to learn more about them. they’re also criminally understudied animals, so books like this are always nice to find.

i particularly liked the last chapter (“myths and representation from early humans to the lion king”) and wish it had been longer. as always, fuck disney and FUCK the lion king.

regardless, very interesting read. everyone start caring more about hyenas NOW!!!!!

[Ed Stoddard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This will no doubt be the standard reference work on hyenas and their historical relationship with humans. Stay tuned for an in-depth review in the Daily Maverick ...