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The brown hyena lives in the coastal regions of Namibia. It provides an example of excellent adjustment in that it has developed a highly unusual hunting behaviour. The filmmakers accompany a young researcher who has gained insight into this animal species. Ingrid Wiesel´s ground-breaking research programme on the feeding ecology and the hunting behaviour of the brown hyena is the only field research project of this kind on the wild brown hyena and has been in operation since 1995.
This hyena was called the "strandwolf" (beach-wolf) by the Boers, who often sighted this dog-like animal, scavenging for dead fish and other carcasses among the debris washed up on the shore. The brown hyena is not at all dependent on open waterholes and, due to the absence of big land predators and human activity in this area, it is frequently sighted during the day in the coastal region, where there is a dearth of fresh water.
The brown hyena - although living mainly on carrion - discovered a new source of food in the mainland colonies of South African fur seals, which have been in existence for the last 50 years. It inhabits the prohibited diamond area near Lüderitz on the West coast of Namibia, where the fur seals give birth to their young. By shattering the skull and consuming the brain of baby seals it also satisfies to a large degree its need for water. Due to the change of the hunting and feeding behaviour of the brown hyena, this area can be considered an "evolutionary hotspot." For the first time, these insights into the life of the usually reclusive brown hyena, hitherto rarely shown on television, are the subject of a one-hour documentary.
As we accompany Ingrid Wiesel we discover that the seemingly hostile region is in fact a natural paradise: due to the cold Benguela-stream coming from the Antarctica the coast of Namibia is rich in fish - food for sea birds, fur seals, predatory fish, pelicans, penguins and flamingoes as well as for the white sharks and Benguela dolphins that are also among the regular guests. We visit the deserted ghost towns of the diamond miners, the blossoming vegetation of Namaqualand and the farmland north of Lüderitz, where farmers are frequently confronted by the brown hyena in search of food. As one goal of this research is to study the density of population of the big predators in Namibia, we also encounter lions and cheetahs in a fascinating environment.
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