Communication and Cooperation in Action!

Yesterday, we had the fortunate luck to come across a lion-hyena interaction! These interactions are both exciting and hectic for us hyena researchers because there is so much vocal and high-energy behavior to record. Correctly collecting as much data as possible is crucial for us to understand the communicative and cooperative behavior of the social spotted hyena.

Spotted hyenas rarely vocalize during cooperative hunts. Instead, the majority of their vocalizations coincide with cooperative attempts to push lions off of carcasses (which the lions usually stole from the hyenas in the first place).

The scene usually starts something like this: A few hyenas have made a kill and are feeding. Aggressions between the hyenas ensue, causing the hyenas to giggle and potentially squeal. These vocalizations then attract nearby lions who manage to steal the carcass from the small group of hyenas. These hyenas then produce whoops and lows: loud, long-distance vocalizations that hyenas can hear up to five kilometers away. These vocalizations then draw in other hyenas within the clan territory. Upon arriving, these hyenas begin participating in a number of affiliative and cooperative behaviors including greeting ceremonies, social sniffing, scent marking, and parallel walking. Vocalizations start to build with squeals, giggles, lows and whoops then reaching a crescendo that culminates in a group of hyenas bunching together to approach (or mob) the lions. The following is a great video example of some mobs we were lucky enough to witness:

If the hyenas are lucky, they can amass a group large enough to chase off the thieving lions. Not all gatherings lead to mobbing and not all mobs are successful. We hope to understand how communication and cooperation during these interactions can lead to successful carcass take-overs. We aim to understand the selection pressures that may have led to the evolution of these communication signals and how these signals facilitate the dangerous cooperative behaviors that take place at these lion-hyena interactions.

Given the complexity of these interactions, my research will greatly benefit from the advice, input and collaboration of the scientists that attend the Behavior conference in Australia. The research of attending scientists will also benefit from my experience with the much-ignored, misunderstood spotted hyenas. International conferences like this are where scientists from all of the world gather to share ideas, give feedback, and foster collaborative projects. Science proceeds faster when it is built upon the experience and knowledge of more people. Imagine how much faster it could proceed if we included those that are usually shunted to the collaborative sidelines because they can not afford to travel to international meetings. Your donations will help us create a world where those scientists, their unique experiences, and their knowledge can contribute in pushing science forward.