Friday, August 13, 2004

Crocuta crocuta

At about midnight last night, I was chilling with Al and we were watching TV. After surfing through HBO, Cinemax and StarMovies, everything on had some form of horror element to it and I decided against. So we settled on a documentary about carnivores in the African Sahara.. it was something about lions and hyenas.

Well, there were certain bits that were gory and all.. The way hyenas disemboweled a baby zebra.. The zebra's flesh was torn out in a blink of an eye. Super gross!

Anyways, then we started to wonder - are hyenas dogs or cats? I said they were definitely in the feline family, while Al debated saying it belonged in the dog family.. Afterall, I must agree too, their looks closely resemble a dog. And then we argued for a while.. and finally, not able to come up with concrete answers, he told me, "OK, you go online and check it out tomorrow morning OK?"

Googled for "Is a Hyena a Dog or a Cat?"...



Q: They're related to dogs, right?
A: Wrong. Hyenas are a family of their own, the Hyaenidae. They're more closely related to cats than dogs, but their closest relatives are the Herpestidae -- mongooses, meerkats and such.

Q: But what on earth do they have in common with cats?
A: Skeletal details it would take a specialist to explain. DNA studies also prove the relationship. When hyenas lick the space between their hind legs, they lift one or both hind legs into the air much like cats - "playing the cello", as one cat-lover has called it. One observer claims the female purrs while suckling her cubs.

So there. Technically, we're both wrong. They are neither cats nor dogs. But, since hyenas are most closely related to cats than dogs, this is all I need to tell Al. HAHAHA.

Should be going for the jazz thing at Mont Kiara tonight. Not that I'm a big fan of jazz, but it'll be a good chance to get together with friends. And then when Sunday comes, I'll be getting my skin drawn on. Hmm.. I'm actually a wee bit scared you know? But I reckon that's part of the excitement isn't it? I wonder who's coming along with me... I wonder if they have a TV there. If not, I'd better bring along someone who can talk to me while it's being done.. Since Eddie is not much of a talker when he's at work.

I think I'm going for the Celtic moon design afterall!

Posted by Doreen at 9:17 am