The Strongest Lion

Chapter 13 Africa 2

Chapter Thirteen: Second Brother from Africa

But today, as soon as it climbed up the big tree, it saw what looked like some ugly creatures probing their territory at the border.

Chu Ye was startled when he saw it, because he knew that these things were even more terrifying than the Lion Brothers.

The creatures that Chu Ye saw, even more terrifying than the lion brothers, were none other than the infamous second-in-command of Africa—the spotted hyena.

The spotted hyena's reputation as the second strongest in Africa is inseparable from its fighting prowess.

Although hyenas are not very large, they are generally only about 1.5 meters long and 60-70 centimeters tall, and weigh only 40-50 kilograms. Of course, females are heavier, weighing around 60-70 kilograms.

Yet these creatures, whose size and weight are insignificant compared to lions, have managed to dominate the African savanna and become the second-largest hyena in Africa. This speaks volumes about the hyena's survival wisdom and unique way of life on the African savanna.

Although called a dog, a hyena is not actually a dog, as it is not a canine. Hyenas belong to the family Hyaenidae. The spotted hyena is the largest member of the Hyaenidae family.

Hyenas are not canines; in fact, their ancestors may have been felines, and they may have evolved from a type of civet.

In fact, hyenas are a very powerful species.

Don't think that hyenas are powerful now; their ancestors were even more formidable.

The ancestor of hyenas was a giant hyena.

Around 10,000 years ago, some giant hyenas lived on Earth. They were enormous, much larger than the hyenas we see today.

Not only were they much larger than modern hyenas, but they were even larger than modern lions. The giant hyenas of that time were two to three meters long, about 1.2 meters tall, and weighed over 300 kilograms.

At that time, the giant hyena was undoubtedly the apex predator among land carnivores. Not only were ordinary carnivores no match for it, but even the saber-toothed tiger, another apex predator of its time, dared not easily provoke the giant hyena.

At that time, the giant hyena was undoubtedly the king of carnivores. An adult male giant hyena could easily defeat an adult female saber-toothed tiger. Of course, the male saber-toothed tiger was another story; it might even have been able to defeat the giant hyena.

Although modern hyenas are nowhere near as powerful as their ancestors from 10,000 years ago, they have not disgraced their ancestors.

They have managed to carve out a place for themselves on the African savanna thanks to their tenacious survival skills, and have even earned the reputation of being the second oldest in Africa.

Of course, hyenas are disliked by many because of their ugly appearance and the perfectly normal hunting methods they employ for survival. Many perceive hyenas as shameless animals.

However, the so-called "bowl-scooping" technique was not invented by hyenas, nor is it used only by them. Many carnivores on the savanna know this trick. Even the lion, the king of Africa, uses it.

Lions often use this tactic when hunting buffalo.

This is because smaller animals find it difficult to kill their prey with a single blow when hunting larger animals. They cannot quickly bring down their prey. Therefore, they have to target the weak points at the rear of their prey.

Because hyenas are not very large, the wildebeest and zebras they hunt are much larger than themselves. In order to succeed in their hunts, they have no choice but to resort to this method.

Lions generally don't need to use this method because of their large size.

When hunting zebras and wildebeests, they can execute a beautiful and elegant aerial throat lock, killing them in one fell swoop.

However, when lions hunt buffalo, it's similar to hyenas hunting wildebeest. Due to the vast difference in size, they have to resort to some extreme methods.

Actually, it's not just hyenas that are like this.

African wild dogs and jackals both use this method.

Their size dictates that they cannot defeat an enemy in one move.

They must attack their prey from behind, torturing it to death.

While this method is indeed extremely cruel, it's a way that carnivores are forced to use to survive. If their prey were willing to lie there and let them choke them, why would they resort to such extreme measures?

But will the herbivores just give up? Obviously not, so this extreme hunting method will continue to exist on the African savanna.

Hyenas have an astonishing ability to survive; they can go for up to half a month without food or water. Of course, they will stop at nothing to survive.

There was once a hyena that lost its ability to hunt because its leg was bitten off by another carnivore.

Logically speaking, hyenas like these shouldn't be able to survive. On the African savanna, apart from wild dogs, no other animal can survive after being injured or sick.

On the African savanna, any injured or sick animal faces certain death. Not only are you easily preyed upon by other predators, but you also easily starve to death.

This is how it is in hyena families; when a hyena is injured, it may be expelled from the family because they are unable to support a family member who cannot work.

This situation, while seemingly cruel, is actually advantageous for the entire hyena family, allowing them to maintain a high level of combat effectiveness.

The hyena with the broken leg was forced to leave the family because of its injury.

But it didn't want to die. In order to survive, it resorted to gnawing on its own severed leg when it couldn't get food.

This is such a thing! Just thinking about it sends chills down your spine, but you can't help but admire the hyena's survival skills.

Furthermore, female hyenas can travel dozens of kilometers daily from their hunting grounds back to their dens to nurse their cubs.

What kind of spirit sustains them, willing to endure such hardship? It is clearly a mother's nature.

Hyenas are arguably one of the most successful animals to survive on the African savanna. Unfortunately, due to their ugly appearance, they are often branded with the infamous nickname "King of Jar Raiders."

Human society often judges a person's character based on their appearance. Just like in TV dramas, good people are generally good-looking, with upright features, thick eyebrows, and big eyes. Bad people, on the other hand, are often depicted as having pointed faces, monkey-like features, and shifty eyes.