Why are hyenas so awesome?

Because they stand their ground against lions. They usually share the same hunting grounds and hate each other to the point of murdering each other's young. read more

Because contrary to their reputations as cowardly scavengers, hyenas kill 95% of what they eat. A group of them can take down a zebra and eat it, bones and all, in under a half hour. Literally nothing left. read more

Nicolas Mathevon, a biologist at Jean Monnet University, along with his colleagues, monitored 17 captive hyenas at Berkeley. The researchers recorded their sounds and performed an acoustic analysis to understand how the calls vary between different individual hyenas and when they are voiced. read more

Of course, striped hyenas are a different story. Striped hyenas live off of carrion and are often hit by vehicles while eating road kill. 5. FEMALE HYENAS RULE. Female spotted hyenas are more muscular and more aggressive than their male counterparts. This is because the females have three times as much testosterone in their bodies. read more

4. SPOTTED HYENAS ARE CUNNING KILLERS. Despite what Simba would have you believe, spotted hyenas don’t just scavenge for lion leftovers. Spotted hyenas hunt and kill in packs. Ninety-five percent of what a hyena eats comes from hunting. A group of hyenas can devour an entire zebra, leaving no leftovers—not even the bones—in under half an hour. read more

Hyenas do make a giggling sound when they are under a lot of stress (such as when confronting a lion, or being beat up by a more dominant animal). Hyena society is matriarchal - the females are solidly in charge. Here's a good video with some information, and some tame (and cute) hyenas). read more