A Hyena's Tale: 35 Years of On-the-Ground Research

Paul L. Errington Memorial Lecture

This talk takes audiences inside the world of one of Africa's most misunderstood predators — the spotted hyena. Dr. Kay Holekamp draws on decades of field research in Kenya to reveal how early social, ecological, and hormonal experiences shape an individual hyena's behavior, survival, and reproductive success across its lifetime. She explores the species' striking biological quirks — including female-dominant social hierarchies and male-like female genitalia — and explains what these traits can teach us about the evolution of sex differences, intelligence, and cooperation in mammals more broadly. The talk also addresses the urgent conservation challenges facing large African carnivores and the innovative strategies being developed to protect them.

Dr. Kay Holekamp is a behavioral ecologist whose research focuses on mammalian behavioral development, its physiological underpinnings, and the socio-ecological forces that shape it. In 1988, she co-founded the Mara Hyena Project in Kenya — one of the longest-running field studies of wild carnivores in the world — which continues to investigate how early-life experiences influence long-term fitness outcomes in free-living spotted hyenas. Her work leverages the hyena's unique biology and complex social structure to test broad hypotheses about the evolution of intelligence, sex differences, and cooperative behavior in mammals. Dr. Holekamp is also a committed advocate for the conservation of large African carnivores.

This lecture recording can be found on the Available Recordings page approximately two business days after the event and will remain accessible for three weeks.