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The brown hyena (Parahyaena brunnea) is inherently challenging to study owing to its secretive nature and nocturnal activity. Available literature predominantly examines the dietary overlap with co-occurring predators, emphasising the species' ecological role as a scavenger, whilst research focused on the species' spatio-temporal behaviour remains limited. To address this gap, we used camera-trap data from a survey conducted in southern Namibia to investigate the effects of different biotic and abiotic factors on the species' occupancy and detection probability, as well as the activity rhythm and temporal overlap between P. brunnea and other co-occurring species, including humans. Brown hyena's occupancy and detection probability were mainly shaped by environmental factors. The species showed a preference for the upper plateau and was more easily detected in secondary canyons leading to the uplands. Human activity did not influence occupancy, although we detected a clear temporal partitioning. Brown hyenas were most active during the central hours of the night, with a single broad activity peak suggesting increased foraging effort, independent of leopard activity patterns. This study represents the first fine-scale investigation of brown hyenas' spatio-temporal behaviour within the Fish River Canyon. Our findings effectively reduce the knowledge gap on brown hyenas' spatial niche and activity within arid inland ecosystems of southern Namibia, characterised by the absence of larger predators, such as lions (Panthera leo) and spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta), and scarcely affected by human disturbance.

Apex predators can both suppress mesopredators, causing behavioral changes such as temporal avoidance, and facilitate mesopredators via carrion provision. Thus, responses to apex predators may vary depending on the local context. We investigated the differences in the temporal activity of two mesopredators, the black-backed jackal (Lupulella/Canis mesomelas) and caracal (Caracal caracal), in response to the presence of human and non-human apex predators, using camera trap data. We compared mesopredator temporal overlap in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa, across a range of sites with and without lethal predator control (culling). We also assessed mesopredator activity across sites with varying apex predator (i.e., lions Panthera leo, leopards P. pardus, brown hyaenas Parahyanea brunnea, spotted hyaena Crocuta crocuta) presence, and between the mesopredator and apex predator species present. Jackals decreased diurnal activity at sites where culling occurred, increased nocturnal activity at sites with apex predators, and showed temporal overlap with apex predators, providing support that jackals avoid human activity, and apex predators may facilitate scavenging. Caracals remained crepuscular regardless of culling practices, were marginally more diurnal where apex predators were present, and showed low to moderate temporal overlap with these species, providing at least some support that apex predators may suppress caracals. Our results indicate that these mesopredators exhibit flexible behavioral responses to humans and apex predators which may promote their persistence across the landscape.Significance statementWhile the activity patterns of mesopredators in response to apex predators are frequently assessed, the investigation of how mesopredator behavior differs in response to human and non-human apex predators has seldom been studied. Here, we present novel findings comparing the activity patterns of two mesopredators in response to human and non-human apex predators. We demonstrate that (1) both species avoid peak periods of human activity, (2) black-backed jackals also partially align their activity patterns with the activity patterns of apex predators, and (3) caracals show some temporal avoidance of apex predators. Ultimately, black-backed jackals likely improve their foraging success by balancing the energetic gain from scavenging with the increased costs associated with interference competition by apex predators. Whereas caracals likely reduce interference competition by temporally avoiding dominant apex predators.

Globally, large carnivores face significant threats and have lost substantial portions of their historical range. The Brown Hyaena ( Parahyaena brunnea ), one of four Hyaenidae species, has a global population estimated at fewer than 10,000 individuals and the species is of conservation concern. Its population size in Mozambique remains unknown. Zinave National Park (Zinave) in Mozambique is undergoing recovery following the impacts of a prolonged civil war, which severely depleted its wildlife populations. Recently, however, the park has seen the return of large carnivores, both naturally (Spotted Hyaena; Crocuta crocuta , Leopard; Panthera pardus , and Lion; Panthera leo ) and reintroduced (Spotted Hyaena and Leopard) inside the sanctuary. During September 2023 to September 2024, through the establishment of a permanent camera trap grid and the periodic placement of camera traps on carcasses to monitor scavenger activity, the first images of Brown Hyaenas were recorded in Zinave. This provides evidence of their presence in an area not previously considered within the species extant range. This study highlights the importance of long‐term biodiversity monitoring, both inside and outside protected areas, using complementary methods such as active search efforts and camera trapping. These approaches are critical for documenting rare and cryptic species, species range shifts and generating essential data to guide effective conservation strategies. This paper describes a novel record of Brown Hyaena observations in Zinave National Park (Mozambique) which is not currently included in the extant range.

With human influences driving populations of apex predators into decline, more information is required on how factors affect species at national and global scales. However, camera-trap studies are seldom executed at a broad spatial scale. We demonstrate how uniting fine-scale studies and utilizing camera-trap data of non-target species is an effective approach for broadscale assessments through a case study of the brown hyaena Parahyaena brunnea. We collated camera-trap data from 25 protected and unprotected sites across South Africa into the largest detection/non-detection dataset collected on the brown hyaena, and investigated the influence of biological and anthropogenic factors on brown hyaena occupancy. Spatial autocorrelation had a significant effect on the data, and was corrected using a Bayesian Gibbs sampler. We show that brown hyaena occupancy is driven by specific co-occurring apex predator species and human disturbance. The relative abundance of spotted hyaenas Crocuta crocuta and people on foot had a negative effect on brown hyaena occupancy, whereas the relative abundance of leopards Panthera pardus and vehicles had a positive influence. We estimated that brown hyaenas occur across 66% of the surveyed camera-trap station sites. Occupancy varied geographically, with lower estimates in eastern and southern South Africa. Our findings suggest that brown hyaena conservation is dependent upon a multi-species approach focussed on implementing conservation policies that better facilitate coexistence between people and hyaenas. We also validate the conservation value of pooling fine-scale datasets and utilizing bycatch data to examine species trends at broad spatial scales.

Scavenging is widespread in the carnivore guild and can greatly impact food web structures and population dynamics by either facilitation or suppression of sympatric carnivores. Due to habitat loss and fragmentation, carnivores are increasingly forced into close sympatry, possibly resulting in more interactions such as kleptoparasitism and competition. In this paper, we investigate the potential for these interactions when carnivore densities are high. A camera trap survey was conducted in central Tuli, Botswana, to examine leopard Panthera pardus densities and spatiotemporal activity patterns of leopard and its most important competitors' brown hyena Parahyaena brunnea and spotted hyena Crocuta crocuta. Spatial capture–recapture models estimated leopard population density to be 12.7 ± 3.2 leopard/100 km2, which is one of the highest leopard densities in Africa. Time‐to‐event analyses showed both brown hyena and spotted hyena were observed more frequently before and after a leopard observation than expected by chance. The high spatiotemporal overlap of both hyena species with leopard is possibly explained by leopard providing scavenging opportunities for brown hyena and spotted hyena. Our results suggest that central Tuli is a high‐density leopard area, despite possible intense kleptoparasitism and competition. Leopard densities were among the highest so far recorded for southern Africa and spatiotemporal interactions between leopard and their most important competitors, brown hyena and spotted hyena were intense.

Populations of carnivore species outside protected areas may be of considerable importance for conservation, as many protected areas do not provide sufficient space for viable populations. Data on carnivore population sizes and trends are often biased towards protected areas, and few studies have examined the role of unprotected areas for carnivore conservation. We used camera-trapping data and spatial capture–recapture models to estimate population densities for four sympatric carnivores: the African leopard Panthera pardus, spotted hyaena Crocuta crocuta, brown hyaena Parahyaena brunnea and African civet Civettictis civetta in Platjan, a predominantly agricultural, mixed land-use system, South Africa. Mean densities per 100 km2 for the leopard were 2.20 (95% CI 1.32–3.68) and 2.18 (95% CI 1.32–3.61) for left and right flank data, respectively; spotted hyaena, 0.22 (95% CI 0.06–0.81); brown hyaena, 0.74 (95% CI 0.30–1.88); and African civet 3.60 (95% CI 2.34–5.57; left flanks) and 3.71 (95% CI 2.41–5.72; right flanks). Our results indicate that although densities are lower than those reported for protected areas, humans and predators coexist in this unprotected agricultural matrix. We suggest that increased conservation effort should be focused in such areas, to mitigate human–carnivore conflicts. Our study improves the knowledge available for carnivore populations on privately owned, unprotected land, and may benefit conservation planning.

Intraguild interactions among mammalian carnivores are important in shaping carnivore guild composition. Competing species may inhabit different areas and/or being active during different times to reduce the risk of aggressive interactions, but the role of body size in intraguild interactions within carnivore guilds remains largely unknown. We determined spatial and temporal co‐occurrence of small, medium‐sized and large carnivores of the carnivore guild in central Tuli, Botswana: lion Panthera leo, leopard Panthera pardus, spotted hyena Crocuta crocuta, brown hyena Parahyaena brunnea, black‐backed jackal Canis mesomelas, bat‐eared fox Otocyon megalotis, African wildcat Felis sylvestris lybica, African civet Civettictis civetta, honey badger Mellivora capensis and small‐spotted genet Genetta genetta. We used camera trap data over a two‐year period and quantified the degree of temporal and spatial overlap by comparing activity patterns and calculating Pianka's index respectively. Our results showed that temporal overlap in activity between all carnivore species was high, but complete overlap was possibly reduced by differences in peak activity periods. In addition, low to moderate levels of spatial overlap were found between the different carnivore species, supporting the idea that small carnivore species inhabit different areas than large species to reduce the risk of interference competition. Due to the possible strong competition amongst sympatric carnivores there is a need for more knowledge on co‐existence patterns for successful management and conservation of carnivore species, for example when carnivore species are (re)introduced in an area.

The domestic cat (Felis catus) shows remarkable sensitivity to the adverse effects of phenolic drugs, including acetaminophen and aspirin, as well as structurally-related toxicants found in the diet and environment. This idiosyncrasy results from pseudogenization of the gene encoding UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) 1A6, the major species-conserved phenol detoxification enzyme. Here, we established the phylogenetic timing of disruptive UGT1A6 mutations and explored the hypothesis that gene inactivation in cats was enabled by minimal exposure to plant-derived toxicants. Fixation of the UGT1A6 pseudogene was estimated to have occurred between 35 and 11 million years ago with all extant Felidae having dysfunctional UGT1A6. Out of 22 additional taxa sampled, representative of most Carnivora families, only brown hyena (Parahyaena brunnea) and northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris) showed inactivating UGT1A6 mutations. A comprehensive literature review of the natural diet of the sampled taxa indicated that all species with defective UGT1A6 were hypercarnivores (>70% dietary animal matter). Furthermore those species with UGT1A6 defects showed evidence for reduced amino acid constraint (increased dN/dS ratios approaching the neutral selection value of 1.0) as compared with species with intact UGT1A6. In contrast, there was no evidence for reduced amino acid constraint for these same species within UGT1A1, the gene encoding the enzyme responsible for detoxification of endogenously generated bilirubin. Our results provide the first evidence suggesting that diet may have played a permissive role in the devolution of a mammalian drug metabolizing enzyme. Further work is needed to establish whether these preliminary findings can be generalized to all Carnivora.

Intra-guild interactions related to facilitation and competition can be strong forces structuring ecological communities and have been suggested as particularly prominent for large carnivores. The African lion (Panthera leo) is generally thought to be a dominant predator where it occurs and can be expected to have broad effects on sympatric carnivore communities. We used data from two small game reserves in northern South Africa to relate the presence of African lions to abundance, habitat use, diet, and prey selection of two sympatric large carnivores, brown hyaenas (Parahyaena brunnea) and leopards (Panthera pardus). Our results offered some support for the facilitative effects of lions on brown hyaenas, and competitive effects on leopards. However, differences between populations living without and with lions were restricted to broad diet composition and appear not to have permeated into differences in either prey selection, abundance or habitat use. Therefore, we suggest that the potential effects of lions on the predator–prey interactions of sympatric predators may have been context dependent or absent, and subsequently argue that lions may not necessarily influence the predator–prey dynamics in the landscapes they live in beyond those caused by their own predatory behaviour.

Blood from 30 free-ranging brown hyenas (Parahyaena brunnea) was collected for biochemical analysis and select serologic screening in Namibia from 1997 to 2010. Age was found to have an influence on several biochemical parameters that may be related to growth, a developing immune system, and differences in diet. Seasonal differences in diet of coastal brown hyenas also had an overall significant effect on lipemia values, and differences in stress due to varying capture methods could be associated with an increase in glucose and creatinine kinase. Comparisons among hyena species from published data were inconclusive, as some samples may have been derived from captive populations and individuals. Sera were tested for antibodies against 18 pathogens. Antibodies were not detected for most pathogens, but the proportion of sera containing antibodies against canine adenovirus-1 (CAV-1) and canine adenovirus-2 (CAV-2) was 65% and 84%, respectively. There was no effect of sex, age, year of sampling, or contact with domestic dogs, indicating that CAV-1 or CAV-2 may be enzootic. The prevalence of antibodies to canine distemper virus (CDV) was 43%, and older brown hyenas were 6.9 times more likely to have been exposed to CDV, adjusting for year of sampling and degree of estimated contact with domestic dogs, suggesting epizootic outbreaks. This study is the first to present biochemical reference intervals for wild brown hyenas and provides an indication of disease exposure in this species.