The brown hyena (Hyaena brunnea) is one of the three hyena species in southern Africa, the other two being a successful scavenger and hunter, the spotted hyena, and the insectivorous aardwolf. Brown hyena are classed as 'near threatened', with a total population of under 10,000 – of which the Makgadikgadi National Park has about 50 adults.

The brown hyena has evolved to life in desert systems throughout southern Africa, where it occurs at low densities. This shy, nocturnal animal is a solitary forager that can survive independently of permanent surface water. Brown hyenas will eat virtually anything, apart from grass or herbage – and here their diet ranges from melons and scorpions to ostrich eggs or old carcasses.

As part of his PhD from Pretoria University, Glyn Maude has been running a project researching these animals for three years, based near Jack's Camp. He has habituated a clan to the presence of his vehicle, and observed that individuals will often cover over 65km in a night when foraging in the Makgadikgadi. Here lion kills are an important source of food. Over the wet season, these are often zebra and wildebeest, whilst over the dry season, when food is more scarce, they can frequently be cattle and other livestock.

Brown hyenas are not truly solitary animals; they live in clans of between two and ten members. In the Makgadikgadi, Glyn has measured clans' territories as covering 300–750km2. However, clan members are rarely seen together as they forage alone, only interacting with other clan members either by a chance meeting while foraging, or at a communal den site. Some brown hyenas are not part of a clan but are nomadic, the males in particular. Clan members will often be tolerant of an intruder of the opposite sex, but will chase away same sex intruders.

Brown hyenas are usually almost silent: their vocalisations are minimal. Long-distance communication is by a unique double scent mark deposited on grass stalks. These marks can be made as often as every 150m of foraging, and as well as communicating with other clan members, the scent mark is also a marker for the clan's territory. Defecations are also used as territorial markers and can be found in concentrations in 'latrine sites' which are often located along territorial boundaries. The presence of brown hyenas is more often indicated by their spoor or scent marks, as sightings of the animal in the wild are very uncommon.