# Spotted hyena (*Crocuta crocuta*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/spotted-hyena  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) is a mammal in the order Carnivora and the family Hyaenidae, also called the laughing hyena, spotted hyaena or laughing hyaena. It is a large, terrestrial and nocturnal carnivore with a representative adult body mass of 66.5 kg, and its main foods are carrion and ungulate. Gestation lasts 110 days, and it has 1 litter per year with 2 young per litter. The IUCN Red List classifies the spotted hyena as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 45 kg – 66.5 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | 41.1 years |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Main food | carrion, ungulate |
| Habitat | Not recorded |
| Gestation | 110 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 2 |
| Age at maturity | 21 months – 2.87 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Active | At night (nocturnal) |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Mammalia
- order: Carnivora
- family: Hyaenidae
- genus: Crocuta
- species: *Crocuta crocuta* (Erxleben, 1777)

Synonyms: *Canis crocuta*, *Hyaena crocuta*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the spotted hyena?

The spotted hyena is a mammal in the order Carnivora, suborder Feliformia and family Hyaenidae.

### How heavy is a spotted hyena?

The representative adult body mass of the spotted hyena is 66.5 kg, and the lowest value reported by our sources is 45 kg. It falls in the large size class (25 to 250 kg).

### What does the spotted hyena eat?

The spotted hyena is a carnivore whose main foods are carrion and ungulate.

### Is the spotted hyena endangered?

No, the spotted hyena is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does a spotted hyena live?

The lifespan given for the spotted hyena is 41.1 years.

### How many young does a spotted hyena have?

The spotted hyena has 2 young per litter and 1 litter per year, after a gestation period of 110 days.

### When does a spotted hyena reach sexual maturity?

The spotted hyena reaches sexual maturity at 2.3 years, with reported values from 1.7 to 2.9 years.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1), CC0 1.0, 1.0. Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/spotted-hyena