Description
Brown hyenas can measure 86 to 140 cm (34 to 55 in) in head-and-body length, although they average 110 to 125 cm (43 to 49 in). The height at the shoulder is 70 to 80 cm (28 to 31 in) and the tail is 25 to 35 cm (9.8 to 14 in) long. Unlike the larger spotted hyena, there are no sizable differences between the sexes, though males may be slightly larger than the females. The average adult male weighs 40.2 to 43.7 kg (89 to 96 lb), while the average female weighs 37.7 to 40.2 kg (83 to 89 lb). The normal upper weight limit for the species is 55 kg (120 lb), although an occasional outsized specimen can weigh up to 67.6 to 72.6 kg (149 to 160 lb). The coat is long and shaggy, particularly on the tail and back. The general fur color is dark brown, while the head is gray, the upper body tawny and the legs grey with dark horizontal stripes. Erectile hairs 305 mm (12 in) in length cover the neck and back. Brown hyenas have powerful jaws: young animals can crack the leg bones of springboks within five minutes of birth, though this ability deteriorates with age as their teeth gradually wear. The skulls of brown hyenas are larger than those of the more northern striped hyenas, and their dentition is more robust, indicating less generalised dietary adaptations. Brown hyenas possess an anal gland below the base of the tail, which produces a black and white paste. The gland has a groove, coated with a white secretion, which divides a pair of lobes which produce a black secretion. These secretions are deposited on grass stalks roughly every quarter mile of their feeding grounds, particularly around territorial borders.
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