Laugh Line

“Hyenas, particularly the African spotted hyena, with its massive jaws, hulking shoulders, and startling laugh, have been terribly misunderstood,” writes Constance Casey. “The creatures may not be beautiful, but they don’t deserve contempt.” She admits that among furred creatures, the hyena is vying with the rat for “most loathed,” discusses the public-relations problem posed by the hyena’s laugh, and looks at how the canines have been depicted in literature and popular myth.