MALE spotted hyenas queue up to mate instead of fighting for the privilege,
say biologists from the Institute of Zoo and Wildlife Research in Berlin.
Marion East and Heribert Hofer spent 12 years following clans of spotted
hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) in Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park. They
say male newcomers join the bottom of the social heap regardless of size or
fitness. With up to 20 in the queue, it can be several years before a new male
can mate (Behavioral Ecology, vol 12, p 558).
