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11 - Hyenas – Testing Cognition in the Umwelt of the Spotted Hyena

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 July 2018

Nereida Bueno-Guerra
Affiliation:
Comillas Pontifical University
Federica Amici
Affiliation:
Universität Leipzig
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Summary

Spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) are mammalian carnivores that occur throughout sub-Saharan Africa in a diverse array of habitats. Spotted hyenas primarily obtain food by hunting ungulates but also scavenge from carcasses using powerful jaws. They have extended juvenile periods and live in complex societies characterized by fission-fusion dynamics. Experimental assessments have been done using a variety of olfactory, visual, physical, and auditory stimuli. Studies suggest that spotted hyenas exhibit high levels of social intelligence, including recognition of third-party relationships. Innovation has been assessed in hyenas using a novel extractive foraging task, and numerosity using vocalization playback experiments. Major challenges during experimentation incude controlling olfactory, visual and auditory cues, building robust apparatuses and controlling motivation and neophobia. In the wild, cognitive assessment of individuals is influenced by complex group interactions as well as by specific testing conditions. However, testing in both captive and wild environments offers exciting opportunities to understand the evolution, mechanisms, and adaptive functions of cognition in this species.
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Chapter
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Field and Laboratory Methods in Animal Cognition
A Comparative Guide
, pp. 244 - 265
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2018

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References

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