Thread by @PKurnath

UP NEXT, #3 STRIPED HYENA (Hyaena hyaena) versus #14 FIRE-FOOTED ROPE SQUIRREL (Funisciurus pyrropus) #2023MMM

Both of tonight's competitors display #MightyStripes, are found across the African continent, and lead solitary lifestyles. But their similarities stop there #2023MMM

Striped Hyenas tip the scales at 55kg (121lbs, 250 stoats) with stripes adorning their torsos and legs, and are active during dawn, dusk and into the night #StoastAsMeasurement #2023MMM

And don't confuse Striped Hyena with its Spotted cousin nor the hairier Brown Hyena or Aardwolf. #FunFact: These feliforms have more visible stripes during the summer when their hair is shorter (Rieger 1981) #SummerTimeAndTheLivingsEasy #TeamCat #2023MMM

Fire-footed Rope Squirrels weigh 243g (1/2 lb, 1.1 stoat) and are diurnal tree squirrels with a fabulously striped tail #StoatsAsMeasurement #TeamSquirrel #2023MMM

Fire-Footed Rope Squirrels will eat discarded bark from the Ceiba pentandra tree that's been ripped by Chimpanzees foraging for the inner bark richer in sap doi.org/10.1007/s10764… (Lapuente et al. 2020) #2023MMM

Tonight's battle takes place in the Loisaba Conservancy in the Laikipia Plateau of central Kenya tinyurl.com/4b9wytpn (Wagner 2006) #2023MMM

However, Fire-Footed Rope Squirrel is feeling less than fabulous on the home turf of Striped Hyena. Squirrel prefers moist savannas & lowland tropical forests, not this much drier grassland #HomeHabitatAdvantage #2023MMM

The sun is setting, Fire-footed Rope Squirrel is darting between the grasses, trying to find a nice tree to climb and make its home for the night. Not too far away, Striped Hyena is standing alone and still, surveying the landscape... #2023MMM

Striped Hyena is hungry and normally would scavenge the savanna for a good meal, but nearby Spotted Hyenas are protecting a fresh carcass, so Striped Hyena moves on to food foraging option 2: hunt for small mammals (Wagner, 2006) #20223MMM

Fire-Footed Rope Squirrel stands on hind legs - completely still - attempting to scan the surroundings, but the high grasses limit visibility and the grass isn't strong enough to support the weight of the squirrel to get a better view #2023MMM

Fire-Footed Rope Squirrel hears a rustle in the grass.... #2023MMM

Striped Hyena has the sciuird in its mouth! Striped Hyena shakes head violently from side-to-side, snapping small squirrel bones (Kruuk 1976) #Carnage #2023MMM

STRIPED HYENA CHOMPS FIRE-FOOTED ROPE SQUIRREL!!! #2023MMM