Some people have been saying Canine, others Feline. I just would like another opinion. I know they look more like Canines but I am interested in the genetics of the animal. Thanks.

Hyenas are canine. Can be bred with different breeds of dogs. They are not actually as ferocious as we are led to believe.

Canine, they are north america's equivalent to wolves, only they scavenge rather than hunt.

Hyena's are niether Canine nor Feline. The are Hyaenidae and in a Family of their own. There are three subspecies : Striped, spotted and brown. They are more closely related to a Mongoose.

Yes, Jenelea, you are possibly correct. And I concede. Thank you for posting.

Regards

Tick

My mistake I was thinking of african dogs... Sorry

Hyenas or Hyaenas are the animals of the class Mammalia, order Carnivora, family Hyaenidae, suborder Feliforms (or "cat-like" as opposed to Caniforms or "dog-like") of the Carnivora. Although phylogenetically close to felines (the whole "cat" family) and viverrids (including all of the genets, the binturong, most of the civets, and the four linsangs, but not, as somebody on this page has asserted, mongooses, weasels or meerkats), hyenas are behaviourally and morphologically similar to canines in several aspects (a product of Convergent evolution); both hyenas and canines are non-arboreal, cursorial hunters that catch prey with their teeth rather than claws. Both eat food quickly and may store it, and their calloused feet with large, blunt, non-retractible nails are adapted for running and making sharp turns. However, the hyenas' grooming, scent marking, defecating habits, mating and parental behaviour are consistent with the behaviour of other feliforms. Although long reputed to be cowardly scavengers, hyenas, especially spotted hyenas, kill as much as 95% of the food they eat, and have been known to drive off leopards or lionesses from their kills. Hyenas are primarily nocturnal animals, but may venture from their lairs in the early morning hours. With the exception of the highly social spotted hyena, hyenas are generally not gregarious animals, though they may live in family groups and congregate at kills.