Though they frequently kill them if they have the opportunity, lions do not appear to consider spotted hyenas to be prey. Instead, they see them as competitors.
But it's not just lions who exhibit this reluctance to consume their fellow animals.
One hypothesis is that illness has taught them to refrain from doing so.
People frequently claim that we live in a world where dogs devour dogs, however an old Spanish proverb maintains that dogs do not eat dogs. And to find out why, a multinational research team under the direction of the University of Granada set out.
What they discovered was this:
A carnivorous animal, such a fox or marten, is more likely to get diseases that could be fatal if it consumes the carrion of another carnivore, especially one that belongs to the same species. Such diseases include prions like the deadly kuru, which killed many Papua New Guinean tribes who engaged in cannibalism ceremonies in the 1950s.[1]
It makes sense, though I'm not sure if that's why lions refrain from devouring their arch foes.
Alternatively, and perhaps more simply, laughing hyenas taste funny.
But it's not just lions who exhibit this reluctance to consume their fellow animals.
People frequently claim that we live in a world where dogs devour dogs, however an old Spanish proverb maintains that dogs do not eat dogs. And to find out why, a multinational research team under the direction of the University of Granada set out.
What they discovered was this:
A carnivorous animal, such a fox or marten, is more likely to get diseases that could be fatal if it consumes the carrion of another carnivore, especially one that belongs to the same species. Such diseases include prions like the deadly kuru, which killed many Papua New Guinean tribes who engaged in cannibalism ceremonies in the 1950s.[1]
It makes sense, though I'm not sure if that's why lions refrain from devouring their arch foes.
Alternatively, and perhaps more simply, laughing hyenas taste funny.