Ever smell a hyena??
No?! Really?? Oh… well they stink. BAD.
Mainly from a scent gland under their tails.
Many animals like to rub their butts against stuff to make their presence known.
The same is true for hyenas. They can tell sex, age, family or clan and more just by smelling other hyenas’ markings.
Scientists have long theorized that these smells aren’t made by the animals themselves but bacteria in their glands.
So they did a study and found out that yup, it’s totes bacteria!
Hyenas that are related have similar bacteria and males and females have different types because of their gender differences.
It’s pretty amazing that some smelly bacteria can pack a whole lotta information!
Let’s just hope that scientists don’t decide to start using stinky bacteria as information storage. We’d rather go back to floppy disks!! LOLz!
[Image via WENN.]
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