Meet the Giant Short-Faced Hyena That Was as Large as Today’s Lions

Unknown to many, hyenas are one of the smartest and most sociable animals in the wild. Due to human prejudice against these creatures, many people are unable to spend time around them and really get to know them. In addition to being very intelligent, hyenas are also very old. The history and evolution of these animals can be traced back millions of years, although many modern hyenas do not bear much resemblance to these extinct species. Ancient hyenas were larger, and some were even thought to be more ferocious. These prehistoric hyenas were almost completely fearless, even hunting prey at least twice their size.

Even modern hyenas are stronger than most people think, and these animals are as strong as lions, especially when it comes to hunting prey. Occasionally, fights break out between two groups of animals. One of the few recorded fights between the animals took place in Ethiopia in 1999, where lions killed more than 30 hyenas and hyenas killed more than six lions before the military intervened. According to experts, a species of hyena existed millions of years ago that was actually the size of a lion today. This article will examine random facts about this hyena and how it differed from modern hyenas.

Meet Pachycrocuta

The earliest hyena species date back 15 million years, compared to humans, which evolved only about 6 million years ago. Pachycrocuta is one of these ancient species. An ancient species of hyena the size of a lion. The Pachycrocuta is a large short-faced hyena, about 35 to 39 inches tall at the shoulder, with an estimated average weight of 240 pounds. Some of these hyenas grow even larger, weighing up to 330 pounds, about the size of a lioness.

Due to the large size of these hyenas, experts do not think they are the type to chase prey. These hyenas were top predators, but like modern striped hyenas, they were probably primarily parasitic scavengers that pilfered the carcasses of other carnivores, including saber-toothed cats. Pachycrocuta had large, powerful limbs with short distal bones, and a lower jaw with strong and well-developed teeth, especially premolars. All of these features suggest how it was designed to dissect cadavers, move bulky parts and break bones.

Pachycrocuta Distribution and Habitat

According to experts, these hyenas are more prevalent in parts of Eurasia and Africa. The exact time frame in which these hyenas existed is unknown. However, the earliest members of this species appeared sometime during the Late Miocene epoch, about 4.5 million years ago. More recent species are believed to have emerged during the Late Pliocene to Pleistocene period, about 3 million to 500,000 years ago. At this point, the animals are believed to have shifted their habitat from East Africa to other southern parts of the continent.

These hyenas are also found in parts of Europe and Asia. They are thought to have first appeared in Europe during the Middle Pleistocene and lived in Asia between the end of the Pliocene and the Middle Pleistocene. Some fossils of these hyenas were found in caves in China at the same time as early human fossils were being discovered. However, it’s unclear whether these early humans hunted hyenas, or hyenas hunted humans, or whether the two species simply lived in caves at different times.

Pachycrocuta is thought to have become extinct in East Africa during the late Pliocene, and its disappearance from Europe has also been attributed to the extinction of saber-toothed cats. The reason for this conclusion is that the Pachycrocuta prefer to steal the carcasses of these tigers, and their extinction means that the food supply for these hyenas is reduced. Their extinction was also linked to the evolution of smaller spotted hyenas, which were easier to chase and catch prey because they were not as large. Additionally, spotted hyenas were better suited to the environmental conditions that existed at the end of the Pleistocene, just after the last ice age, when most of the world’s large mammals died out due to food shortages.

Diet: What Do Pachycrocuta Eat?

Like modern-day hyenas, Pachycrocuta were carnivores. However, unlike today’s hyenas, the Pachycrocuta did not prey on its own unless absolutely necessary. These ancient hyenas enjoyed stealing carcasses from other predators (especially saber-toothed cats) and dragging them all the way to their dens to eat them. They are carnivores and mainly eat meat. However, it’s unclear whether they, like most modern hyenas, enjoyed occasionally including fruit in their diet.

These hyenas have been known to eat all prey, including bones, due to their extremely strong teeth. Furthermore, these animals have no preference for the prey they eat, considering that they mostly eat carcasses stolen from other predators. Ideally, these ancient hyenas shouldn’t have any predators due to their size. However, experts believe they were easy prey for larger predators because they were less active.

Pachycrocuta and modern hyena

The key difference between the two types of hyenas is that ancient hyenas were much larger than modern hyenas. However, the size of modern hyenas varies by species, the largest of which can exceed 150 pounds. The two species still share some similar features, with the only differences being things like size and tooth arrangement. Despite differences in the size and placement of their teeth, both species of hyena can easily crush the bones of their prey. Both species were more scavengers than hunters, although modern hyenas are more foragers than Pachycrocuta and are more sociable.

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