Hyenas don’t just “laugh” – they have a whole noisy vocabulary of whoops, giggles, grunts, growls, and squeals, and each sound means something different.

Quick Scoop

The classic “laugh”

  • The famous hyena “laugh” is a series of high‑pitched, rapid giggles.
  • It usually happens when a hyena is excited , nervous, threatened, or squabbling over food, not because it’s happy or amused.
  • This giggle is a type of sharp, chattering bark rather than a human‑style laugh.

Other sounds hyenas make

Spotted hyenas, the main “laughing” species, use many other calls.

  • Long, drawn‑out “whoops” that you can hear several kilometres away, used to call or coordinate clan members.
  • Lower calls like moos/lowing, grunts, and groans during close contact or calmer communication.
  • Growls and snarls in aggressive or tense situations.
  • Squeals, whines, and yells when greeting, seeking attention, hungry, or in pain.

Do all hyenas sound like that?

  • Only the spotted hyena really does the classic “laughing” giggle.
  • Other hyena species (striped hyena, brown hyena, aardwolf) also bark, growl, grunt, and whoop, but without the same cartoon‑style laughter.
  • Individual spotted hyenas even have whoop calls that are unique to each animal, almost like a vocal “name.”

If you had to imitate it in words, a hyena might sound like:
“whooo‑OOP… whooo‑OOP…” for the long call,
and “hee‑hee‑hee‑hee!” for the frantic giggle.

Little storytelling snapshot

Picture a cool African night: a lone spotted hyena lifts its head and sends out a long, haunting whoop that echoes over the savanna to tell its clan where it is.

Moments later, at a carcass, two hyenas clash over a scrap of meat, bursting into that wild, high‑pitched “laughing” chatter—less like a joke, more like an argument in fast‑forward.

Bottom note: Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.