Refereed Publications
Abstract:
This chapter focuses on the ‘social intelligence’ of spotted
hyenas (Crocuta crocuta), as inferred by the manner in
which they solve daily problems arising from behavioral
interactions. For comparative purposes, we frame our
review in the context of evolutionary models of primate
intelligence. We begin with a presentation of spotted
hyena natural history, underscoring some of this species’
unusual attributes, followed by a discussion of their life
history variables, highlighting certain features shared with
primates. The ensuing commentary on social organization
and behavioral ecology centers on the balance between
aggression and affiliation, and provides an account of
various mechanisms that contribute toward maintaining
group cohesion. Our final discussion of cooperative
hunting and commuting addresses the cognitive
implications of elaborate foraging strategies. Throughout,
we consider aspects of the spotted hyena’s behavioral
repertoire that reflect the complexity of social interaction
and the capacity for individual storage and retrieval of
information about a changing environment. We propose
that current hypotheses relating life history variables,
feeding ecology, and social complexity to the evolution of
primate intelligence should be tested against other taxa in
which species display similar attributes.