Why does everyone label Hyenas as lowly scavengers?

Question

Everytime I see them on animal planet and national geographic they hunt down their prey in packs.

Answer 1

They are dogs so they are classified as scavengers, they are successful hunters, all good hunters always hunt in packs.

Answer 2

Neither dog nor cat, the hyena will hunt prey in packs, drive off solitary or weaker groups of other carnivores from their kill, or, because they are the only animal in Africa with jaws powerful enough to crush large bones, are often seen scavenging at the remains of kills of other predators, like a pride of lions, which they are unable to drive from the kill. They can still obtain much nourishment from the fatty marrow inside the larger bones, and fat has much more energy than protein (meat). For the latter habit, they are deemed scavengers.

Answer 3

We look at animals and make judgements as to what is "good" or "bad" based on human behavior. I suppose that if a human were to act like a hyena we would call that person an opportunist.

I am always amazed how we label some animals as "good" and some as "bad". Animals are amoral beings--they lack the intelligence to understand what good and bad truely are (though I have a dog that acts ashamed when I discover a pillaged trash can...).

I really wish that so-called-science shows would leave moral judgement out of the animal world.

Answer 4

one of the previous people who answered was a fool, hyenas aren't dogs, and they're not cats, their in neither category, also they don't technically hunt

My answer: everyone labels hyenas as lowly scavengers because they do not hunt, hyenas wait for a member of another species, such as a tiger, lion, leopard, or cheetah, to kill the prey, then the large pack of hyenas tacks the dead prey and eats it, therefore, they're scavengers because they scavenge for food, they don't catch