Hyenas Are Endangering Survival of Wilds Dog in Africa, Scientists Say

Wild dogs are a critically endangered species in Africa, with only about 5,000 of them remaining. But the cause of their endangerment is not humans, but hyenas, Scottish researchers report in today’s Nature.

Biologist Martyn L. Gorman of the University of Aberdeen and his colleagues found that wild dogs require a great deal of energy that must be recouped from their hunting. But packs of “kleptoparasitic” hyenas steal their prey, making them resume the hunt. They found that even the loss of a small amount of food has a disproportionately large impact on the dogs’ energy balance, making it harder for them to survive.

Compiled by Times medical writer Thomas H. Maugh II