Hyenas Don't Follow Lions the Way Everyone Thought, 4 Years of GPS Data Show
A four-year GPS study in Southern Africa reveals that hyenas consistently avoid lions rather than trailing them for food as previously believed. While lionesses remain neutral, male lions were observed actively tracking hyenas.
Why it matters
This research corrects long-standing biological misconceptions about predator-prey dynamics and interspecies competition in the wild.
For generations, the rivalry between lions and hyenas has fired imaginations and fueled scientific debate. Legends held that hyenas trailed lions, waiting to steal from their hard-earned kills. But fresh findings from Southern Africa tell a different story, one that GPS technology is finally making clear.
Beginning in 2013, researchers from the University of KwaZulu-Natal began an ambitious project across the wilds of Namibia and Botswana. Over four years, they fitted 17 lions and 14 spotted hyenas with specialized GPS collars, each recording positions every five minutes during the creatures' most active nighttime hours. Their efforts centered on Namibia's vast Etosha National Park, spanning 22,000 square kilometers of semi-arid terrain, and the Chobe-Linyanti region of Botswana, bordering the lush floodplains of the Kalahari.
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