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DNA Revealed Moderate Dietary Overlap Between Lions and Spotted Hyenas in Etosha

Two lions with a spotted hyena in the foreground
Research · Ecology

A DNA-based diet study from Namibia’s Greater Etosha Landscape shows that African lions (Panthera leo) and spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) share many of the same prey species across both wet and dry seasons. The study, published in March 2026, used DNA metabarcoding of carnivore scats rather than relying only on visible remains such as hair and bone.

The researchers sequenced 164 scat samples. Of these, 98 contained detectable vertebrate prey and were included in the diet analysis: 69 from lions and 29 from spotted hyenas. In total, they detected 19 vertebrate prey species. Large ungulates dominated the diets of both predators.

Large ungulates dominated both predators’ diets

Lions most frequently consumed species including gemsbok, common eland, plains zebra and blue wildebeest. Spotted hyenas most often showed DNA from plains zebra, gemsbok, springbok and black rhinoceros. The rhinoceros detections indicate consumption, but the method cannot determine whether the hyenas killed the animals or scavenged from carcasses.

Prey species alone did not strongly separate the predators

Diet composition was broadly similar between lions and hyenas, and the researchers found moderate niche overlap rather than strong dietary separation. On Pianka’s overlap index, where 0 means no overlap and 1 means complete overlap, the overall value was 0.75; it was 0.68 in the dry season and 0.66 in the wet season. Both predators used a somewhat broader range of prey during the wet season, probably because young ungulates and more widely dispersed prey increase the number of feeding opportunities.

The authors conclude that prey identity alone does not strongly separate resource use by lions and spotted hyenas in this landscape. They suggest that the overlap may be facilitated by opportunistic scavenging and kleptoparasitism — taking over food killed or obtained by another predator — while any further niche partitioning may instead involve prey age or sex, spatial segregation or other behavioural mechanisms that were not captured by the DNA identification of prey species. They also caution that the smaller number of spotted-hyena samples limits strong conclusions about the exact degree of dietary overlap.

The researchers recommend continued molecular monitoring to detect changes in resource use and interactions between the predators as environmental conditions, prey populations and human pressures change.

Sources and image credit

  1. Patterson, J. R., Périquet-Pearce, S., Melton, M. H., PetersonWood, B., Portas, R., Aschenborn, O., Cloete, C., Peirson, L. E., Lafferty, D. J. R., & Beasley, J. C. (2026). Revealing seasonal dietary niche overlap among sympatric large carnivores using DNA metabarcoding. Scientific Reports, 16, 13590. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-43423-w

Image: Cellulosefarmer — two lion brothers with a spotted hyena in the foreground in Tanzania; representative image, not from the Etosha study landscape. Source: Wikimedia Commons. · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

About this content: This story was produced with AI assistance within an editorial workflow developed by Wildlife Vagabond. Editorial responsibility remains with Wildlife Vagabond.How AI is used

Ecology

SPECIES IN THIS STORY

Species in this story

Spotted Hyena Crocuta crocuta Explore species Lion Panthera leo Explore species Plains Zebra Equus quagga Explore species Blue Wildebeest Connochaetes taurinus Explore species Black Rhinoceros Diceros bicornis Explore species

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