Apparently there are interesting reasons why hyenas are dissed in everything from the Bible to The Lion King. Sure, they're butt-ugly, inclined to stealing other animals' kill, and greet their siblings by licking his or her genitals, but--interestingly enough--they also live in matriarchal clans, with the dominant male ranking below the lowest-ranking female, and their powerful jaws (exerting three tons of pressure per centimeter, we are told) are stronger than those of the much larger lion. Shot in Tanzania's Serengeti National Park, this beautifully filmed French documentary also follows a female hyena, who leaves on a hunt thinking her cub will be nursed by her sister, but returns to find his corpse, which she then has to keep from becoming the family's snack. Curiously, there's no discussion of the most famous hyena trait, “laughing," but there is a fair amount of detail on hyena mating rituals, including the fact that females have “pseudo penises and scrotums” that prevent males from having non-consensual sex, and graphic footage of frustrated males, who "sometimes lick themselves for long minutes to quench the fire of their excitement” (perhaps more about wildlife autofellatio than many of us would want to know). Recommended, overall. The other titles in the Families in the Wild series, a subset of the acclaimed Just the Facts series, are: Lions, Monkeys and Zebras. Aud: H, C, P. (R. Reagan)
Families in the Wild: Hyenas
(1999) 52 min. $24.95. Goldhil Video. PPR. Color cover. ISBN: 1-58565-590-2. Volume 17, Issue 3
Families in the Wild: Hyenas
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