The lion king and the hyaena queen: large carnivore interactions and coexistence

Periquet, Fritz and Revilla reviewed the full breadth of interactions between lions and spotted hyenas, the two dominant large carnivores of African savannas. They synthesized evidence on kleptoparasitism in both directions, interference and intraguild killing, spatial and temporal avoidance, and how prey abundance and group sizes tip the competitive balance. The review framed the relationship as a dynamic competition rather than a simple dominance hierarchy, with each species shaping the other's behavior, distribution and demography. It is a comprehensive modern reference for understanding the lion-hyena dyad that anchors African predator guilds and influences subordinate species such as cheetahs, leopards and wild dogs through cascading competitive effects.