Dire Wolf (pack of 5) vs. Running Hyena (clan of 4)

[dinosauria101]

Dire Wolf (pack of 5) - Canis dirus

www.thoughtco.com/thmb/gL_A9JsyUXhXDDznONPRbU_xAnE=/1195x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/direwolfDA-56a2544a5f9b58b7d0c91baa.jpg

Order: Carnivora
Family: Canidae
Length: 1.2 meters
Mass: 60-68 kg
Age and Location: 125,000 to 9,500 years ago, Pleistocene
Diet: Large megafauna such as bison and horse
Weapons: Crushing jaws
One of the largest species of canine ever to exist. Had a very strong bite relative to size

Running Hyena (clan of 3) - Chasmaporthetes ossifragus

prehistoric-fauna.com/image/cache/data/Chasmaporthetes-borissiaki-738x591.jpg

Order: Carnivora
Family: Hyaenidae
Length: 1.7 meters
Mass: 80 kg
Diet: Grazing mammals
Age and Location: 500,000 years ago North America, Pleistocene epoch
Weapons: Crushing jaws
The only North American hyena. Relatively cursorial.

[6f5e4d]

The combined weight of the wolves is below that of the hyenas, but they still have a numerical advantage and endurance to keep up that allows their victory.

[dinosauria101]

I agree, the dire wolves win. More powerfully built forequarters, larger heads, better cutting/crushing teeth, and more numerous. Plus 2 wolves would have an easier time with 1 hyena than 1 on 1, meaning 1 hyena would be killed quite fast and then it'd be 5 on 3, and so on.

[6f5e4d]

For sure, probably a good reason why we only had one American hyena.