Where does this come from, and can I check it?

Female hyenas are larger, more aggressive, and outrank all males. The figure is taken from San Diego Zoo, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a animals fact?

Yes. It sits on the Animals shelf, one of 1,090 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

What else can I read about it?

The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

Spotted hyena clans are ruled strictly by dominant females

Female hyenas are larger, more aggressive, and outrank all males.

Spotted hyena societies operate under matriarchal structures where even the lowest-ranking female outranks the highest-ranking adult male. Females possess elevated androgen levels during development, making them larger and physically dominant across clan hierarchies.

Spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) — Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0 · licence · source

Where this comes from

San Diego Zoo

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

Go further

Nature & Animals trivia Which Animal Matches Your Personality?

More facts like this

Vampire bats share regurgitated blood with starving roost matesBats exchange blood meals with roost partners who failed to feed.Pangolins are the only mammals covered in keratin scalesOverlapping keratin scales account for twenty percent of a pangolin weight.Honey badgers can sleep off venomous cobra bitesTough loose skin and specialized neurotoxin resistance protect honey badgers.The star-nosed mole snout holds 22,000 microscopic touch organsStar-shaped snout rays identify and consume insect prey in milliseconds.Wolf pack members alter howling pitch to sound like a larger groupHarmonic chorus howling tricks rival packs regarding territory strength.A blue whale tongue weighs as much as an elephantThe tongue of an adult blue whale can weigh around 2.7 tonnes.

Tags: hyena, mammals, social

Spotted hyena clans are ruled strictly by dominant females: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: Female hyenas are larger, more aggressive, and outrank all males. The figure is taken from San Diego Zoo, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a animals fact?: Yes. It sits on the Animals shelf, one of 1,090 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.