Spotted Hyena - Relationships With Humans - Cultural Depictions and Perceptions - in Western Culture

In Western Culture

As several distinguished authors of the present age have undertaken to reconcile the world to the Great Man-Killer of Modern times; as Aaron Burr has found an apologist, and almost a eulogist; and as learned commentators have recently discovered that even Judas Iscariot was a true disciple, we are rather surprised to find that someone has not undertaken to render the family of Hyenas popular and amiable in the eyes of mankind. Certain it is, that few marked characters in history have suffered more from the malign inventions of prejudice

Traditional Western beliefs about the spotted hyena can be traced back to Aristotle's Historia Animalium, which described the species as a necrophagous, cowardly and potentially dangerous animal. He further described how the hyena uses retching noises to attract dogs. In On the Generation of Animals, Aristotle criticised the erroneous belief that the spotted hyena is a hermaphrodite (which likely originated from the confusion caused by the masculinised genitalia of the female), though his physical descriptions are more consistent with the striped hyena. Pliny the Elder supported Aristotle's depiction, though he further elaborated that the hyena can imitate human voices. Additionally, he wrote how the hyena was held in high regard among the Magi, and that hyena body parts could cure different diseases, give protection and stimulate sexual desire in people.

The author of the Physiologus, who infused pagan tales with the spirit of Christian moral and mystical teaching, reactivated the myth that the hyena is a hermaphrodite. The author compared the species to "double-minded men" who are neither "man nor woman, that is, neither faithful nor unfaithful". He further states that "The sons of Israel are like this animal since in the beginning they served the living God but later, given over to pleasure and lust, they adored idols." The bestiaries of the Middle Ages embraced the Physiologus's descriptions, but further elaborated on the animal's necrophagous habits. These bestiaries almost invariably depict hyenas feeding on human corpses. These illustrations were largely based on the descriptions given by Aristotle and Pliny, though the animals have no spots or other bodily markings, thus making it unlikely that the authors had ever seen hyenas first-hand.

During the 15th and 16th centuries, travellers to Africa provided further descriptions of the species. Leo Africanus repeated some of the old concepts on the hyena, with the addition of describing its legs and feet as similar to those of men. In 1551, Swiss naturalist Conrad Gesner rejected the belief of the hyena's hermaphroditism, and theorised that it originated from confusion over an androgynous fish bearing the same name. He adds three other animals within the category of hyenas, including an Ethiopian quadruped named "Crocotta", which was thought to be a hybrid between a hyena and a lioness. Sir Thomas Browne also argued against the hyena's supposed hermaphroditism, stating that all animals follow their own "Law of Coition", and that a hermaphrodite would transgress this. Sir Walter Raleigh, in an attempt to rationalise how Noah's Ark could have fitted all extant species of animal, wrote that hyenas were hybrids between foxes and wolves which originated after the Great Flood. References to the spotted hyena's vocalisations are referenced in numerous contemporary examples of English literature, including Shakespeare's As You Like It and George Chapman's Eastward Ho. John Milton, in his Samson Agonistes, compares the species to Delila.

Natural historians of the 18th and 19th century rejected stories of hermaphroditism in hyenas, and recognised the differences between the spotted and striped hyena. However, they continued to focus on the species' scavenging habits, their potential to rob graves and their perceived cowardice. During the 20th century, Western and African stereotypes of the spotted hyena converged; in both Ernest Hemingway's Green Hills of Africa and Disney's The Lion King, the traits of gluttony and comical stupidity, common in African depictions of hyenas, are added to the Western perception of hyenas being cowardly and ugly. After the release of The Lion King, hyena biologists protested against the animal's portrayal: one hyena researcher sued Disney studios for defamation of character, and another – who had organized the animators' visit to the University of California's Field Station for Behavioural Research, where they would observe and sketch captive hyenas - suggested boycotting the film.