The episode starts by showing hyenas driving away a trio of lions and stealing their fresh kill. This seems to bear out the stereotype of the hyena as the villain of the savannah,
feckless, savage, greedy and sly. But as the story unfolds, we find out that the truth is more complicated.
The setting is Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve. We take a look inside a hyena den, where the cubs live for their first 8 months, and see loving mothers interacting with
their young. Hyena society is strictly hierarchical. Surprisingly, rank is inherited. We also follow hyenas on a hunt. After doggedly chasing a herd of blue wildebeest, they take down a straggler. The ensuing feast is interrupted by a young male lion, with interesting results.
A version of this film was first broadcast as an episode of Amazing Animals in March 2006.