Hey! We are here at the future site of the striped hyena diorama that was made
possible by Brain Scoop fans and fans of the Field Museum and we're here with Dr. Larry Heaney.
Larry, what is your title here at the museum and what has been
your role with the hyena diorama? Dr. Heaney: I'm curator of mammals, Negaunee Curator of
mammals at the museum and I've been content specialist for the diorama.
We're talking about exactly what it is that people are going to be seeing here in
terms of the implied behavior of the hyenas and their interaction with the
little bat-eared fox that's hiding around behind the rocks.
Emily: Right
Emily: Is the configuration that they're in or have been depicted in, is that accurate?
Is that what you would see, if you were in Somalia observing striped hyenas?
Dr. Heaney: With this particular grouping, what we've got is four hyenas. One of them is an adult male, one is a
juvenile male and two of them, so far as we can tell, are adult females.
These are animals that live in very dry, open, habitats. They're in a really, really harsh environment,
low density, low biological productivity and so the social groupings of
these hyenas are small. Typically what you would see is an adult female
with one or two young. Occasionally, the male that is associated with the female
will spend time with her and the young ones also, so that part of it actually is
is ok. The one aspect that's a little unusual here is that there are two
individuals that seem to be adult females. It's possible that one of those
actually could be an older female and the other adult is her daughter
but unrelated striped hyena females do not tolerate each other.
Emily: Do you think that was a consideration that Akeley would have had when he was procuring these animals
or do you think he just kind of took what was available?
Dr. Heaney: They were using what information they had but in 1896 we knew almost nothing about the biology of
these animals. Most of what was known was based on spotted hyenas.
They're more abundant, there'd been more people watching them and so they probably were influenced by
the fact that spotted hyenas were known to live in larger multi-female groups.
That's my best guess as to why they ended up portraying it this way.
Emily: And so what about the bat-eared fox that the exhibitions department has also decided to put in?
That was not part of the original grouping.
Yeah, it was not part of the original idea and, actually, I was one of the people who is pushing hard to have that included.
Yeah, they do occur in the same habitat. That animal was another one
that was collected as part of this Somali expedition. Akeley is the one who
did the taxidermy mounts so it actually belongs in this grouping.
Emily: And I know, like, in addition to the Bat-Eared Fox, there is talk of including a
dung beetle that would have been found there. There are vultures being depicted.
And so all of these things they've consulted collection managers or
researchers or scientists to make sure that every action in this diorama is deliberate.
Dr. Heaney: Absolutely, absolutely, it is all entirely accurate it's all things that
either the members of the expedition actually did see at this time,
or saw at some point during the expedition.
Emily: Do you think that dioramas are still educationally valuable?
Dr. Heaney: Absolutely, and particularly, when they're done as beautifully as the ones that are here.
People want to see the real thing. They value that. Yes you can watch these
things on, you know, on TV ... but seeing something on a screen is not the same as
standing here and seeing the actual animals depicted in their actual habitat
so somebody can come in here and even if they were not to read a single label,
if they only stood here and looked at the exhibit, looked at this diorama,
they would learn things about hyenas and about the Somalian desert where they live
that they would not be able to get any other way. I think it's a fabulous way to learn
and if you walk through this hall of Asian mammals and stop and take
a couple minutes to look at each one, by the time you leave here, you will have an
understanding of what the natural environment of virtually all of Asia is like.
Which is fabulous! Emily: Yeah.
Emily: As we know that the habitat and environment of these lands are changing, do you think their importance is going to increase?
This will be one of the, I think, première ways for people to understand what these places actually
looked like and existed as for thousands of years before humans came along and put
their big footprint on top of everything. Now, hopefully, this will help inspire
people to value this natural habitat, to value the organisms, to want to learn
more about them, to become excited about them and therefore want to protect them.
That's what we always hope for. We want people to learn and enjoy and appreciate
and therefore decide that they want to do something to keep these places and to keep these animals.
Emily: It all comes down to, like, my, I don't know, my joy that the Field Museum
feels so strongly about this that we have research staff and scientists and
artists who are excited about it and that it was made possible with the help
from this strange little YouTube channel, called The Brain Scoop. I think it's great and I think the people at
home who helped make this happen too will be really happy to know that it's got your
stamp of approval. Dr Heaney: You guys did great work.
BUT WAIT! before we roll the credits I just want to take a minute
to again, say thank you all so much for helping us to make the project hyena
diorama a reality, whether you donated $1 or helped us promote or share our campaign.
The last eight months have been really incredible at the Field Museum. We had
more than 50 staff members from all different departments come together to
make this thing a reality and it would not have happened without your help and support.
So thank you so much for making this dream come true for us and I hope
someday you'll get to come visit it and see it in all of its "hyena glory" and
keep an eye out for the dung beetle. It's my favorite part. So without further ado
project hyena diorama: