Haksar tame hyena

The tame hyena, also commonly called the Haksar tame hyena, is a domesticated descendant of the Alutran spotted hyena. They were first domesticated in the mid-2nd millennium BCE by inhabitants of what is now Haksarad and Agarad. The tame hyena has been selectively bred over millennia to be more docile than their wilder cousins while retaining much of their strength and aggression in their roles aiding humans. These roles include hunting, protection, and even fighting alongside humans in war. Despite superficial similarities to canines, tame hyenas require a much more protein-rich (typically meat) diet, and even the nature of their bonds with owners and handlers take different forms.

Evolution
The Haksar tame hyena is a domesticated version of the Alutran spotted hyena, which could once be found throughout western and central Alutra as well as Harad. Beginning sometime around the 1500 BCE, humans began the process of domesticating the creatures for the purpose of using them as hunting partners, guards for their homes, and later in combat as scouts, sentries, trackers, and fighters. As spotted hyena populations vary genetically from region to region, the tame hyena represents what is perhaps the last living version of the creature that was once abundant throughout the region.

Domestication
Contrary to canines, which were domesticated through a commensalistic path (in which members of one species gain benefits while those of the other species neither benefit nor are harmed.), it is widely believed that tame hyenas were domesticated through mutualistic methods (in which both organisms benefit from each other). Archaeological finds suggest that human and hyena groups combined their strength against larger organisms or groups thereof to improve their chances, thereafter splitting kills. This relationship evolved with the introduction of other domesticated animals, wherein the hyenas were offered food and protection from larger predators in return for their services.

Tame hyenas are highly social animals, trained alongside other hyenas as well as human handlers to comply with basic commands and work as a group toward common objectives. Unlike other domesticated animals, such as dogs, tame hyenas live in clan-type structures that put them at odds somewhat with other members of their group, mirroring their wild cousins. While less aggressive than wild hyenas, tame hyenas must maintain a social hierarchy within their clan, including their human owners or handlers. This means that human handlers must be willing to physically correct their hyenas when they attempt to supplant their authority, or when they exhibit behavior contrary to what they are attempting to encourage.

Biology
The name for hyena in Manuak is nabrujak, which translates roughly to leopard-wolf. The name used to classify the tame hyena is a modification of this, called nabrujak ha-tashagur, translating to leopard-wolf hearth-bound.

Build
The tame hyena has a strong and well-developed neck and forequarters, but relatively underdeveloped hindquarters, although they are more developed than those of their wild cousins. The rump is more angular than that of a spotted hyena, allowing it to run at greater speeds and for greater distance. Its head is wide and flat with a blunt muzzle and broad snout. Each foot has four digits, which are webbed and armed with short, stout, and blunt claws. Its paw pads are broad and flat, although less flat than its wild cousins. The tail is relatively short, being 300-350 mm long and somewhat resembling a pompom in appearance. Females are considerably larger and more aggressive than males, although males are generally the ones trained for hunting in modern times. Also like wild spotted hyenas, tame hyenas have proportionally large hearts, constituting around 1% of their body weights, giving greater endurance for long chases. By contrast, a lion’s heart makes up only 0.57% of its weight.

For its size, the Haksar tame hyena has one of the most powerfully built skulls of any domesticated animal. Their dentition is more dual purpose than that of wild hyenas. The upper and lower third premolars are conical bone-crushers, with a third bone-holding cone jutting from the lower fourth premolar. The tame hyena also has its carnassials situated behind its bone-crushing premolars, the position of which allows it to crush bones with its premolars without blunting its carnassials. Combined with large jaw muscles and a special vaulting to protect the skull against large, blunt forces, the tame hyena has a powerful bite that can exert a pressure of 80 kgf/cm2, 40% more than that of a leopard. Its jaws outmatch those of bears in bonecrushing ability, and wild spotted hyenas have been observed to crack open the long bones of prey animals measuring 7 cm in diameter. Unlike wild spotted hyenas, most tame hyena breeds have pronounced manes along their back, a trait bred into them over the centuries to reinforce their imposing visages.

Adults measure 100-175 cm in body length, and have a shoulder height of 73-94 cm. Adult males weigh 67-71.5 kg, while females weigh 70-73 kg. Exceptionally large weights reaching upwards of 81.7 kg and 90 kg are known as well, but these are rare and often display health problems later in life. Fur color varies and tends to change with age, and often varies according to breed. The base color tends to be a yellowish gray on which an irregular pattern or roundish spots is superimposed on the back and hindquarters. The spots may be reddish, deep brown, or almost black, and vary in size even on single individuals. A less distinct spot pattern is present on the legs and belly but not on the throat and chest. A broad, medial band is present on the back of the neck, and is lengthened into a forward-facing crest. This crest is generally reddish-brown in color. Limbs are spotted, although feet may vary in color, from light brown to nearly black. Fur is relatively sparse and consists of two types: moderately fine underfur (15-20 mm) and long, stout bristle hairs (30-40 mm).

Behavior
When communicating with one another or human handlers, tame hyenas have a complex set of postures in communication. When afraid, the ears are folded flat, and are often combined with baring of the teeth and flattening of the mane. When attacked, either by another hyena, another animal, or a hostile human, the animal lowers its hindquarters. The tail usually lays down when neutral, though it will change position according to the situation. During an attack, or when excited, the tail is carried forward on the back, although an erect tail does not always accompany a hostile encounter. Although they do not wag their tails, they will flick them when approaching dominant animals, or when there is a slight tendency to flee. When approaching a dominant animal, subordinates will walk on their knees and forelegs in submission.

Like their wild cousins, the tame hyena has an extensive vocal range, with sounds ranging from whoops, fast whoops, grunts, groans, lows, giggles, yells, growls, soft grunt-laughs, loud grunt-laughs, whines, and soft squeals. The loud “whoop” call, along with the maniacal laughter, are among the most recognizable of these sounds. Typically, very high-pitched calls indicate fear or submission, while loud, lower pitched calls express aggression. The pitch of the laugh indicates the individual’s age, while variations in the frequency of notes used when they make noise convey information about their social rank. These calls are often utilized in limited communication with trainers, to indicate that it has found its quarry and will likely soon be making chase. In one study, a specimen used trial and error to open a steel puzzle box that contained food. The creature experimented with different strategies to open the box, including biting, flipping it, digging underneath it, and pushing it around, a diverse array of techniques indicating that the creatures are not the simple brutes some take them to be. Hyenas primarily eat meat, although wild hyenas have been known to occasionally supplement their diet with fruits. Although meat remains the majority of their diets, tame hyenas are able to rely on fruit and vegetable matter to a greater extent for nutrition.

Relationship with humans
From a husbandry perspective, hyenas are easily kept, as they have few disease problems, and it is not uncommon for tame hyenas to reach 20 years of age. Hyenas are believed to have been first domesticated by humans sometime around 1500 BC in what is now Haksarad and Agarad, first in to aid in the hunt, and then to help guard their livestock. In succeeding centuries, migrating peoples brought their tame hyenas with them, from Esharat to Ventora to Velorenkya. As they arrived to different regions, separate breeds began to take shape, as their human masters began specializing them to make them most fit for their new environments. Hyenas occupy a unique place in many of these cultures’ traditional mythologies as a result; the hyena is both a figure of strength and raw aggression. It is believed that hyenas were first utilized in the capacity of warfare by proto-Haksars in wars against neighboring peoples in what is now Esharat. By the time of the first century of the common era, tame hyenas (or record of them) reached as far east as Salia and Mitruhmoer. They were historically kept by nobility throughout Harad and eastern-central Alutra as signs of strength and status, as well as for hunting large animals such as bears or wolves. Although they remained a largely Harad and western-Alutra centric phenomena, many breeds had developed; both lithe, fast ones and brawny, bone-crushing ones for taking on larger creatures. Special companion breeds could be found in Esharat, although they also continued to be used as hunting aides or to guard livestock or homes. Hyenas kept as pets were popularized by numerous noble families across Alutra; Haksar nobility bred them for size and strength, commonly using them for hunting and for war, as well as to serve as status symbols in their own right. This practice was also common among Velorenkyan nobility prior to the Revolution. Guard, ornamental, and war breeds were also historically common in Ventora, especially among nobility. However, their popularity declined in their use as guards and hunting aids in many places, where less aggressive dogs brought by trade and increasing interconnectedness became popular for the most part. By the modern day, hyenas generally only remained popular in remote areas or with wealthy nobility. .

Today, tame hyenas continue to decline somewhat as working animals among common folk. However, they have experienced in the last forty years a small revival as status symbols in the Jarader world, and many wealthy and to-do citizens of Jarader countries keep them as symbols of power, including Haksar Regent-General Marad ha-Mussafi. The most famous breeds include the large and muscular Haksar black hyena, of which several are kept by Marad, the Eshar dwarf hyena (which are 2/3 smaller than the average tame hyena and were bred primarily for hunting, guarding, and companionship), and the Ventoran whistling hyena, who gets its name from its unique communication techniques with its human handlers in the hunt.

Cultural importance
Hyenas were commonly depicted to symbolize protection, alertness, and fertility throughout the ancient world. The archaic pre-Sufwei Jimmadan deity Tekew was over the realms of war, slaughter, and brutality in conflict, and was most commonly depicted as a hyena. Perhaps most interestingly is the fact that Tekew was a female, reflecting the dominance of female hyenas in the species. In pre-Jarader Manuak society, their visages were commonly used as emblems of magical protection. In west-Alutran mythology, hyenas often serve as supernatural guardians or watchers. In Esharat, prior to the introduction of h'Ejrad, it was said that the gates of the underworld were guarded by the primordial hyena goddess, Shodoma. Following the introduction and dominance of h'Ejrad in western Alutra, hyenas continued to be revered, although this took different forms. According to the Jarader teacher Deshirrak ha-Ambad, religious law requires Jaraders to feed their hyenas (and other animals that they own) before themselves, and make arrangements for feeding them before obtaining them. Furthermore, Velorenkyans who identify as "third-gender" in modern culture commonly draw from older Veloren cultural symbols relating to the hyena, thanks to its masculine and feminine traits.