10 April 2025

Mammal ID help – Hwange NP, Zimbabwe April 2019

Hi all, my first post on here.  I have always loved wildlife, mostly focussed on birding tbh, but never lost my interest in mammals.  The podcasts have really whet my appetite to do more mammal watching.  Anyway, we went to Zim in 2019 with friends but only managed a couple of game drives.  My friend took this pic on his phone but was in a different truck to us at the time.  We have never really settled on an ID but flitted between Hyeana and Painted Dog…  Thought we could settle it finally!

Thanks.

Andy M

 

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Andy Millar
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5 Comments

  • 10 April 2025
    Sebastian Kennerknecht

    Hard to say with the picture quality, but to me it looks like a spotted hyena. The shape of the ears, the way it holds its neck and head is a typical hyena pose. Wild dogs barely ever travel alone, so i would assume your friend would have remembered if this part of a group, rather than a singular animal (another point for hyena). It could of course be something totally different or a weird dust spot on a camera sensor, but my guess is spotted hyena.

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  • 10 April 2025
    Jon Hall

    I agree with Sebastian for the same reasons … more like Hyena than Wild Dog but it could be many other things too!

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  • 10 April 2025
    Andy Millar

    Thanks both. He took it at range with a phone, hence the bad image, hence the debate!

  • 10 April 2025
    Nathan Myhrvold

    I agree with the other posts, it’s a spotted hyena. The neck is too robust, and the ears too small to be a wild dog.

  • 10 April 2025
    Michal

    Spotted Hyena. Rounded ears. Large neck.

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