Like most predators, they stay away from humans, maintaining a distance of about 300 meters. However, this distance decreases at night when these animals come out to feed. Large specimens of hyenas choose to attack humans. A pair of cannibal hyenas responsible for killing 27 people in Malawi in 1962 weighed 72 and 77 kilograms when shot. Victims are usually women, children, and sick, infirm people.
Although attacks on living humans are rare, the spotted hyena readily prey on human corpses. In Masai and Hadza traditions, corpses are left out in the open for spotted hyenas to devour. If they are not devoured, they are seen as those who can cause social disgrace. Therefore, the corpse is often covered with the fat and blood of the slaughtered ox.
