Spotted hyenas live in highly complex female-dominated societies that make them vulnerable to social disruption when populations are impacted by human pressure.
Spotted hyenas have complex social relationships that affect individual welfare outcomes. Lower-ranking animals experience chronic social stress and reduced access to food. Human persecution including poisoning and snaring disrupts clan social structures, orphaning young animals and leaving individuals without social support. The social complexity that makes hyenas fascinating also makes population disruption particularly damaging to individual welfare.