Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
Spotted or laughing hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) are masterful hunters of the African savannah that kill up to 95% of their food as opposed to scavenging it. They have the largest group sizes and the most complex social behaviour of any member of the order Carnivora.
The spotted hyena is one of the most well-known and popular animals today, thanks to its many appearance in nature documentaries as well as movies. It has become one of those iconic animals that almost everyone knows or at least can identify.
But the spotted hyena is not alone in its family, today there are actually four extant species of hyenas: the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta), the brown hyena (Hyaena brunnea) the aardwolf (Proteles cristatus), and striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena).
Today we are going back in time with a figure, to one that may predate many of us here on the blog! I am speaking about a Striped Hyena Hyaena hyaena (Linnaeus, 1758) by vintage company Starlux. So I can bring out another species of hyena, and bring up a classic series of figures as well.
So, adding to the Spotted Hyena clan again, this time with a short-lived companion from the Schleich ‘New Heroes’ series. For those who don’t remember the series (from 2011-2013) it featured various human figures representing famous warrior-types from history (Thracian, Ninja, Samurai, etc) as well as some random gladiators, most of whom had names.
I’m going to start by saying that it’s my own fault that the first hyena post on this blog did not come from me…pretty much, of all my collection, freshwater fish and hyenas are the main focus, yet I didn’t give any attention to the latter. It does, however, save me from having to talk about hyenas as a group…more toy talk then, I guess?
It’s no secret that hyenas don’t have a great public image, they’re often vilified and anthropomorphized with less desirable human traits; cowardice, gluttony, maliciousness, just to name a few. Their portrayal in pop culture, even before The Lion King, has never been a positive one. But like other often vilified animals; snakes, sharks, vultures, bats, spiders, etc.
