Where the Hyenas Went

            It’s canon that all of the hyenas have left the Outlands by the time of Kiara’s first hunt. The question is: what happened to them all? I’ll be talking about some fan theories that explain how the Outlands’ hyena population went from what it is during The Lion King (TLK) to what it is in Simba’s Pride (SP). I will also be referencing characters from The Lion Guard (TLG) and talking about why the hyena population is lower in TLG than it is in TLK.

Death via the Power Struggle

           

            A good number of hyenas probably died while Simba was usurping Scar’s throne. The fighting between the hyena clan and Pride Rock’s lionesses got pretty violent so it’s entirely possible that some of the hyenas simply didn’t survive the power struggle. This would partially explain why there are fewer hyenas in TLG than there are in TLK. It would also help explain why the hyenas left the Pridelands. While the Pridelands had fallen into general disarray under Scar’s reign, the final nails in the coffin for the hyenas living there were likely the fact that Simba came back fighting, their only ally betrayed them, and the lion pride was killing significant numbers of hyenas on the battlefield. This would mean that the numbers they undoubtedly built up while conditions were good in the Pridelands would already have gone down by the time they left for the Outlands.

Starvation In the Outlands Or Mass Exodus

            Given that there is perpetually very little food or water in the Outlands, it seems likely that the ecosystem wouldn’t be able to support even the thinned-out hyena population that left the Pridelands (especially if Zira and Scar's other followers were kicked out at the same time). That said, a lot of the hyenas probably either starved to death (and/or dehydrated) or left the Outlands altogether. The weaker hyenas would die off and the stronger ones would either find a way to survive on the miniscule amounts of food and water they could find in the Outlands or search for a new place with more food and water. This would drop the population significantly.

The Lion Guard Chased Them Off

            One possibility for why the rest of the hyenas left the Outlands is that the Lion Guard chased them off for good, perhaps by thwarting enough of their schemes that they eventually just gave up. Janja and his gang are the only canon hyenas left (aside from Jasiri) and they’re not a very large clan so it’s possible that they realized they didn’t have the numbers to take on the Lion Guard. Especially since Kion is bound to get more powerful and have better control over the Roar as he grows older.

            This theory actually ties really well into the previous two because it would make sense for the Guard  to chase the hyenas away if there were only a handful left. The return of the Lion Guard (a force of good that had been absent during Scar's reign when the hyenas thrived) combined with the drop in the hyena population spell disaster for Janja and his clan. The decrease in numbers (one way or another) is canon because there are clearly fewer hyenas in TLG than there are in TLK. Both of the above theories are logical and likely ways that said decrease happened, which means that all of the theories in this post agree (for once).

            

            What do you think? Let me know in the comments!