Dr. Holekamp and her colleagues are continuing their field study of behavioral development in the spotted hyena. Spotted hyenas live in complex, primate-like societies, called "clans," with 5 to 100 members. Whereas female hyenas remain in their natal clans for life, all young males eventually emigrate. Each hyena clan is structured by a rigid, linear dominance hierarchy, or "pecking order." Spotted hyenas differ from most other mammals in that females are socially dominant to males among adults. Coalitions in which one animal joins an aggressor against a third individual occur frequently and may function importantly in the development and maintenance of rank relations in hyena societies. This phase of the research has three goals: (1) to document the development, causes, and consequences of coalitionary behavior; (2) to determine why males emigrate from their natal clans, how they become integrated into their new social groups, and how dispersal influences their social rank; (3) to elucidate the mating system in the study population. The 80 hyenas being studied comprise one large clan in the Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. The age, social history, and kin relations of each clan member are known from previous study. The researchers are using radio tracking, behavioral observation, and molecular-genetic analysis of paternity. The research will help elucidate (1) the causes and consequences of mammalian dispersal behavior, (2) the development and maintenance of social dominance, and (3) the social biology of large carnivores.
