According to the African Wildlife Foundation hyenas can weigh up to 190 pounds, and despite their reputation as “laughing” cowards that usually go after the easiest prey, they can be quite dangerous. The nocturnal hunters are coming into conflict with humans more frequently as the human population increases in Africa.

They are the only African mammals that can tolerate the poisonous secretions of these termites, so other species don’t compete with them for food. The aardwolf seems to use its keen hearing to detect the termite parties, more than smell or vision. It’s often stated that aardwolves never eat meat or threaten livestock.

While foraging, the aardwolf can cover about 1 km (0.62 mi) per hour, which translates to 8–12 km (5.0–7.5 mi) per summer night and 3–8 km (1.9–5.0 mi) per winter night.

Instead, a hyena’s “laughter” is actually a form of communication used to convey frustration, excitement, or fear. Most often, you’ll hear this unique vocalization during a hunt or when the animals are feeding on prey as a group.

70 cmAdult

No dogs here! Hyenas are not members of the dog or cat families. Instead, they are so unique that they have a family all their own, Hyaenidae. There are four members of the Hyaenidae family: the striped hyena, the “giggly” spotted hyena, the brown hyena, and the aardwolf (it’s a hyena, not a wolf).

7.9 kg

Proteles cristata

The aardwolf looks like a smaller, slender version of the striped hyena. Like all hyenas, it has a long neck and its front legs are longer than its back legs, giving its back a distinctive downward slope. The aardwolf has large ears, a black snout and a long, fox-like bushy tail.

Spotted hyenas are the largest of three hyena species. Brown and striped hyenas are the other two. Although hyenas appear similar to dogs, they are actually more closely related to cats.

Hyenas are spread throughout Africa and can make a home in any region where they can access food and water. Though they are famed as scavengers, they are also powerful hunters. Their bite is the strongest of any mammal, and they are tenacious enough that they have been observed warding lions away from food.

“It’s that evolutionary niche hyenas have slipped into that they can both steal the prey and kill their own, which makes them so successful,” Hofmeyr says. Hyenas’ strength is another advantage. Unlike wild dogs, a hyena can break out of a snare. In groups, hyenas have been known to kill lions.

Do hyenas eat dead lions? Hyenas do eat dead lions. Commonly known as scavenging animals, hyenas eat dead organisms. Yet, hyenas are hunters as well, and they hunt about 80% of their prey.

A grey wolf would most likely win against a striped or brown hyena, since it is generally larger and therefore probably stronger. It is also quicker and more agile, meaning it could avoid the hyena’s bone-crunching bite.

But realistically speaking, both lions and tigers outweigh wolves by several hundred pounds. Wolves at most weigh about 180 pounds while the heaviest tigers can supposedly weigh up to 670 lbs (and most experts now believe that lions average about the same size and weight as well). So no, the tiger will win.

Dogs are domestic animals and cannot be remotely compared to wild animals that hunt on a daily basis to survive. A wolf can chew and consume bone and its bite force alone can kill any dog with a single attack.

Wolves are stronger have three times the bite force and have more endurance. They’re an Apex predator with almost no natural enemies that can hurt them and would kill a pitbull quick. An injury to it would be a death sentence in the wild. . No, a pit won’t catch it either..

A rottweiler that has been selectively bred for gameness can probably overpower a wolf. The average pet rottweiler or pit bull would be utterly destroyed. A game-bred borzoi, wolfhound, or other breed bred specifically to deal with wolves will probably put up a good fight and even win.

Some dogs that could beat an alpha wolf are Dogo argentino, Pero de presa canario, Boerboel, Kangal, American bulldog, Caucasian Ovcharka, Bully kutta, Tosa Inu, American Staffordshire and Pitbull terrier.

Despite being Apex predators, there are animals that eat wolves. These include grizzly bears, polar bears, Siberian tigers, scavengers, and of course, humans. Although very rare, sometimes a wolf might eat another wolf too. But sometimes the hunter can be the hunted as we’ll explore.

Based on data regarding dog attacks in the U.S. and Canada between 1982 and 2014, the dogs most likely to bite humans are:

• Pit bulls.
• Rottweilers.
• Pit bull mixes.
• German shepherds.
• Bullmastiffs.
• Wolf hybrids.
• Huskies.
• Akitas.

Dogs With The Strongest Bite Force

• Mastiff – 552 pounds. The Mastiff takes the crown with a reported bite force of 552 pounds.
• Rottweiler – 328 pounds. Rotties are known for being fierce and strong dogs.
• American Bulldog – 305 pounds. American Bulldogs are fairly large, stocky and muscular dogs.
• German Shepherd – 238 pounds.
• Pitbull – 235 pounds.

Instances of wolves killing bears and bears killing wolves have been reported, but such events are rare and considered the exception. According to Mech (1981), wolves sometimes kill bears, but likely only young, old, or otherwise weakened bears.