Spotted hyena daughters inherit rank, resources, and a taste for power

Among people, it is common knowledge that privilege is often inherited. But according to new findings, hyenas also inherit resources and status, and not just their forebears’ genes, from their parents.

The findings were published recently in Science Advances — and they challenge the traditional evolutionary theories that assume males always face greater reproductive competition.

In the animal kingdom, the males are generally considered to be the dominant sex. They are stronger and more competitive. But spotted hyenas buck this trend.

Scientists at the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) in Berlin and the Institute of Evolutionary Science of Montpellier have found that in spotted hyenas, females dominate males not because they are bigger or stronger but because they have larger networks of social alliances.

The study also showed that female hyenas face more competition shaped by the inheritance of social rank across generations.