Hyaenidae are found in Africa, South Western Asia, and India. The aardwolf is to bee found in south Africa and east and northeast Africa. The Spotted Hyena and the shy and much rarer, Striped Hyena (Hyaena hyaena) are found in East Africa. The smaller, and even shyer Brown Hyena (Hyaena brunnea) occurs only in southern Africa.

Different from most other animals, female spotted hyenas are dominant over the males and outweigh them by about 3 pounds.Hyenas are generally thought to form an evolutionary "link" between dogs and cats, being more closely related to cat.

Hyenas range in size from medium to large, and weigh anywhere from 10 to 80 kg. They have bushy tails and some have a mane. Each species has a distinctive coat, and all hyenas, except for the aardwolf, have massive jaws and large bone crushing teeth. The hyena walks on its toes (digitigrade) and its claws are blunt and non-retractile. A distinguishing feature of the hyena is the difference in length between the front and rear limbs, which gives them the appearance of always running uphill.

A group of hyenas is called a clan, and these clans are centered around females, which are dominant and larger than males. The average clan consists of 10 to 12 females. Female hyenas generally stay with the clan they where born into, while males leave the clan when they become sexually mature.

Clans usually defend a territory, which contains the foraging and denning areas. Some clans do not have fixed territories, but follow migratory prey such as wildebeest. Other clans are migratory for parts of the year but have fixed territories for the rest of the year.

Hyenas are generally thought of as scavengers, but in fact they are skilled hunters that are quite capable of taking down large prey, except for the aardwolf, which feeds almost entirely on termites. When food is scarce, hyenas cover large areas individually in search of food. Relying primarily on their sense of smell, the hyena is able to signal in on other species, such as lions and cheetahs, to locate possible food sources.

Although smaller in size than the lion, a group of hyenas is an equal match to a pride of lions. When lions and hyenas clash, the winner is usually the species with the most individuals.

In many areas hyenas have traditionally been hunted by humans, who view them as predators of livestock. Habitat loss and persecution by humans have threatened hyenas in some areas.