The domestic dog and the hyena are about as closely related as a dog is to a mongoose.
Although many believe that the hyena is in the canine family, it’s not.
Members of the dog family include various wolves, coyotes, foxes, jackals, the dingo, the dhole, and the African hunting dog, as well as many breeds of wild and domesticated dogs.
Members of the dog family can mate with one another and produce fertile offspring.
However, hyenas are left out of this gene pool party.
Zoologists see the hyena as being somewhere between the cat family and the dog family, with its structure being more like the cat than the dog.
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