Why Do Hyenas Laugh? What Hyena Giggles Really Mean

What is a hyena’s laugh?

The laugh is a call of the spotted hyena, the largest and most social of the four hyena species. Scientists call it a giggle: a rapid series of short, high-pitched notes that rise and fall, much like a person’s nervous, breathy laughter.

It is just one of more than a dozen sounds in the spotted hyena’s repertoire. Researchers have described whoops, fast whoops, grunts, groans, lows, growls, yells, whines, squeals and soft and loud “grunt-laughs”. The giggle stands out to people simply because it sounds so human.

When do hyenas giggle?

Spotted hyenas giggle in moments of social conflict, above all around food. A carcass is a tense place: dozens of clan members may crowd in, and they feed in order of rank. When a low-ranking hyena is pushed away, bitten or chased by a dominant one, it often giggles as it backs off.

Giggles are also heard when hyenas are excited or frightened, for example when lions arrive at a kill or when rival clans clash at a territory border. In each case the call goes with a situation the hyena cannot control.

Because spotted hyenas live in strict hierarchies run by females, being displaced is an everyday event for many clan members. You can read more about how ranks are set in Why are female hyenas dominant?

What does the giggle tell other hyenas?

In 2010 a team led by the French bioacoustician Nicolas Mathevon published a study of the giggles of captive spotted hyenas at the University of California, Berkeley. By analyzing recordings, they found that the giggle is not random noise but a signal packed with information.

• Age: the pitch of the giggle reflects the age of the caller.
• Social status: the pattern of how the note frequencies vary from one note to the next differed between dominant and subordinate animals.
• Identity: each hyena’s giggle has its own individual signature.

This means a hyena hearing a giggle near a carcass may learn who is calling, roughly how old it is and where it stands in the hierarchy. That could help clan members judge whether to join a squabble or to approach a kill, and may even help them recruit allies. Scientists are still studying exactly how hyenas use this information in the wild.

The whoop: the call that carries for kilometers

The giggle is a short-range call. For long-distance contact spotted hyenas use the “whoop”, a loud, rising “ooo-WHOOP” repeated several times in a bout. On a still night it can be heard several kilometers away, often quoted as up to about 5 km (3 miles).

Whoops have several jobs. A hyena whoops to announce its presence, to call clan members together when there is food or danger, and to keep in touch with others spread across a large territory. Mothers whoop to call their cubs, and cubs whoop when they want their mothers. Each hyena’s whoop is distinctive, so clan members can recognize each other by voice.

When many hyenas gather at a kill, whoops, giggles, yells and growls blend into a chaotic chorus. Early naturalists described this din as one of the most unsettling sounds of the African night. It is also a useful clue for lions, which sometimes follow the noise to steal the kill.

How the laugh compares with other animal calls

The hyena’s laugh is a good reminder not to judge animal sounds by human standards. A wolf’s howl is not mournful, and a lion’s roar is not anger; each is a signal shaped by the animal’s social life. The giggle simply happens to resemble a sound people make when they are amused.

Some animals do produce sounds linked to play. Rats and chimpanzees, for example, make particular calls during play and tickling. The spotted hyena’s giggle is different: it is linked to tension and defeat, not fun.

Do other hyenas laugh?

Only the spotted hyena gives the famous giggle. The striped hyena and the brown hyena are mostly solitary foragers and are far quieter, although they growl, yelp and whine in close encounters. The aardwolf, a small hyena that eats termites, is quieter still.

That difference fits their lifestyles. Spotted hyenas live in big clans and compete constantly at shared kills, so they need a rich vocal language. Solitary foragers have less to say.

Myths about laughing hyenas

Myth: hyenas laugh because they are happy or mocking. The giggle is a stress call, as studies of hyena behavior have shown.

Myth: a laughing hyena is about to attack. A giggling hyena is usually the one losing a contest and backing away, not one preparing to charge.

Myth: hyenas laugh to trick prey. There is no evidence that hyenas use calls to lure or fool prey. Their noise at kills actually works against them by attracting lions, and spotted hyenas earn a mention among the loudest animals of the savanna.