Hyenas are among the planet’s most maligned creatures. (Disney’s The Lion King, which depicted them as conniving wise guys, is partly to blame.) But on a recent trip to Zambia’s South Luangwa National Park, I discovered a great tenderness for these surprisingly sweet-looking beasts, whose resting expression approximates a guilty smile.
Like all members of the animal kingdom, they spend their lives scouring the earth for food, and the industriousness is astounding. From a raised seat in a Land Rover Defender, my safari vehicle for the week, I watched a pregnant female emerge from the Luangwa River, gnashing the blood-dripping rib cage of a felled kudu, while a downcast male skulked away, empty-jawed but resolute.
