Hyenas communicate with each other like Facebook

Through the scent of our waste, hyena communicates with the same kind as our Facebook social networking function.

Researchers at the University of Michigan in the US have said hyenas communicate with each other through the bacteria found in their feces, similar to the function of the Facebook social network we often use.

The researchers have studied the odor-causing bacteria in hyenas of the hyenas, which are 'spraying' on the trees or grass.

They found that these wastes contained 'friendly' bacteria that made sense smells like 'messages' that their owners wanted to emit with other hyenas.

Hyena species communicate with each other through different smells.(Photo: abcnews)

"The signals with this sour smell contain a wealth of information that other hyenas can receive ," said Kevin Theis, a researcher at the University of Michigan . Hyena can leave a very specific instant message before leaving. It is like a message board about the presence and activity of the surrounding congregations. "

Theis said: 'The smell of their waste is like a message board, and the bacteria are the ink that writes the information on that bulletin board. Without this ink, hyenas will not be able to provide much information for the same type. "

The researchers also analyzed the molecular structure of the bacteria that live in the waste of spotted hyenas and striped hyenas in Kenya and found that these bacteria are much richer than they thought.

Different species of bacteria provide different information, showing the level of desire of each hyena, and their smell showing fertility. Each species of bacteria has its own smell, so they have a 'bacterial culture' characteristic inside the hyena's waste.

"There have been about 15 studies in the past, but their traditional research methods have not been able to highlight the characteristics of each type of bacteria," said Theis .

He said: 'Now I need to go back to the field to check the predictions made by this research. In the next step, we will have to analyze the microbial community inside hyena's waste to test their ability to change the smell. "