No Laughing at the Hyenas

Those of you who have seen the Lion King, and who hasn't, may remember the hyenas as unsavory characters.  The lead ranger on our volunteer program is studying the feeding habits and spacial ecology of the brown hyena in the Eastern Cape, and does not take kindly to any aspersions being cast at his favorite carnivore.  Last week, he took a small group of us on foot to visit a hyena den that he has been monitoring with a camera trap for the past year.  We were lucky enough to see 2 of the hyena from the den wandering about outside (one of them approached within about 10 feet of where we were hiding).  I still insist that they are odd looking animals.  You be the judge.....

Other characters from the Lion King are also present at Shamwari.  I'm pretty sure the movie was actually filmed at Shamwari, but the rangers insist that is not the case.