SPOTTED HYENAS. The Hyenas, although their vices have heen greatly exaggerated by tradition, have much that is repulsive, both in appear-ance ami character. Largest of the family is the Spotted Hysena, deriving its name from the brown spots on its yellowish gray fur. The picture shows the characteristics ot these animals. They have found a carcass which they are preparing to devour, while the envious Vultures, which they have driven away, hover above. The stout body, neck and head, the powerful jaws that enable these beasts to crunch large bones, the thick neck affording room for the wide throat, are all well shown here. (Crocuta crocuta)
Date 1895
Source http://www.flickr.com/photos/biodivlibrary/6220160325
Author Alfred Edmund Brehm; Wilhelm Haacke; Eduard Pechuël-Loesche; Richard Schmidtlein.
Full title Brehm's Life of animals : a complete natural history for popular home instruction and for the use of schools.
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brehm%27s_Life_of_animals_(Page_183)_(6220160325).jpg

The spotted hyena or laughing hyena (Crocuta crocuta) is a species of hyena, currently classed as the sole member of the genus Crocuta, native to Sub-Saharan Africa. Its current distribution is patchy in many places, especially in West Africa. There is a continuous distribution over large areas of Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana, Namibia and the Transvaal Lowveld areas of South Africa.