How Spotted Hyenas Are Smarter Than Primates

The surprising biology behind predator puzzle-solving and why standard brain metrics fail.

When most people think of hyenas, they only think of laughing scavengers. While in reality, wildlife biologists have proven they have intelligence that rivals, and in some cases surpasses, primates.

In problem solving tests, hyenas regularly outperform primates. when faced with complex puzzles, hyenas quickly figure out how to pull both ropes together whilst primates often refuse cooperation as each would often prefer the whole reward instead of sharing.

Image by Tracy Angus-Hammond from Pixabay

While hyenas have a lower encephalization quotient (~0.98) than primates, EQ is regarded as a crude metric that only measures gross brain mass and does not factor structure or neuron density; a hyenas prefrontal cortex is highly evolved, however they are still penalized and thought of as less intelligent since encephalization quotient heavily penalizes their dense muscle mass, since EQ relies on total body mass vs gross brain mass.

Furthermore, hyenas are highly social. they can judge the amount of individuals in rival clans, and easily recognize eachother.

Did you have any idea that hyenas possessed this level of intelligence?