Submitted by AskScienceModerator t3_118wdoz in askscience
nationalgeographic t1_j9l36pv wrote
Reply to comment by VampiricDemon in AskScience AMA Series: I'm Dr. Christine Wilkinson, National Geographic Explorer, carnivore ecologist, human-wildlife interactions specialist, and performer. Want to know why a coyote wanders through your city? What happens when hyenas chew your tires during research? How to get into SciComm? AMA! by AskScienceModerator
Thanks for asking this question. It's totally normal for us to want to connect with animals- especially as many cultures have increasingly disconnected ourselves from nature.
However, I am highly against having a hyena (or any other wild animal) as a pet -- spotted hyenas in particular are apex predators and their evolutionary drive to do what they do can't be domesticated (definitely not in one animal, and likely not over generations either). Brown hyenas, striped hyenas, and spotties are all bone-crushing/bone-cracking hyenas, with very strong jaws capable of quite a bit of damage. And of course, having a hyena as a pet wouldn't be very kind to them since it would prevent them from living out their natural lives, and they likely wouldn't get everything that they have evolved to need. Spotted hyenas, for example, are highly social and intelligent animals that live in groups called "clans", which they would not have access to as a pet. Etc.
[deleted] t1_j9mklu2 wrote
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