The spotted Hyneas, or crocuta crocuta, found through sub-saharan afri

Question

The spotted Hyneas, or crocuta crocuta, found through sub-saharan africa, is, contrary to the popular belief, one of the natures firecest predators. Some early tribes mistook the hyneas distinctive call, which some have equated to hysterical human laughter, for the cries of the lost souls, while many others associated the animal with the lords of the underworld. In modern movies, the hyena has most often been caricatured as a buffoon like creature or a villain, preying on the weak. These beliefs have led to the common fallacy that the hyena is primarily a scavenger. The reality however is that hyenas are predators first and scavengers only through need.

Hyena physiology may look comical but it is designed for pure power. It has been postulated that the jaws of a fully grown hyena are potentially capable of exerting a bite force of 1000 pound, which would give it one of the most powerful grips in the animal world. The hyenas heart is equally powerful, enabling an adult to run at a steady rate of six miles per hour, with burst of upto thirty miles per hour. In the wild, hyneas tend to hunt in packs led by a matriarch and have been known to bring down animals as large as cape buffalo. It seems that, in the case of the hyena, appearences can be certainly deceiving.   1 
 c 
 The passage suggests that

a. the hyena is a more devastating predator than is the cape buffalo
b. Only villainous animals acts as scavengers
c. hyneas are able to live in a variety of enviornments
d. it is never wise to make assumptions about a wild animal
e. early tribal beliefs regarding hyneas were negative

amma4u · Answer

a, b, c are out... this is my take on it:

d. it is never wise to make assumptions about a wild animal - there are many assumptions made, but corrected by the author. -  CORRECT 
e. early tribal beliefs regarding hyneas were negative - the author uses the tribal belief as an example to begin with. this is only part of a sentence.

OA pls???

mads · Answer

The passage talks about hyena physical appears and its power. Also it explains the belief on hyena's behaviour in the ancient worlds and how modern world caricatures hyena.
But no where it gives hint about its living in different environments.

I stongly feel D is the answer. I would be interested to see any explanations supporting the OA.

Ironduke · Answer

alright this one is from Princeton 1012. The OA is c which I eliminated in the first pass..

here is the reasoning (condensed form)
The passage mentions that hyenas are found through sub-saharan africa which is a big region which suggests that hyenas are able to live in variety of environment.

Go figure:x

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Wow! 10 years old topic, Bumping it up, If anyone have more questions from this passage please post them in the reply i will add them into the main question.

dankstudent · Answer

Someone please eliminate d

bM22 · Answer

Hi  dankstudent ,

Option D is incorrect as certain assumptions have been made in the 1st, which have been clarified the author as mentioned: "In modern movies, the hyena has most often been caricatured as a buffoon like creature or a villain, preying on the weak. These beliefs have led to the common fallacy that the hyena is primarily a scavenger. The reality however is that hyenas are predators first and scavengers only through need.", making C a better choice.

Hope this Helps.
Thanks.

RAHUL_GMAT · Answer

B and D are clearly wrong...

They are extreme

B uses ONLY
D uses NEVER 
A is wrong - comparision done without justification.

fireagablast · Answer

All of the answers suck. No where in the passage does it suggest anything about environmental factors and how hyenas express any particularly adaptive characteristics. 
D is an obvious trap answer because it makes a statement about ALL ANIMALS, not just hyenas. That said, it feels like "the best" answer of all the crap ones.

Who wrote this garbage?

akshitab2912 · Answer

Honestly, I have no clue how vast Sub Saharan geography is & hence (C) was not the answer of choice. I chose (E) because the passage does talk about tribal beliefs about hyenas and how those beliefs are inaccurate.

Besides, the options are really trash.

Besides, the options are really trash.

spa108 · Answer

D, broad answer Errror, it tells about wild animal but in passage is given for hyneas, it is also irrelevant given about the assumptions

shaishav.53 · Answer

The passage suggests that

a. the hyena is a more devastating predator than is the cape buffalo..  Cape buffalo is not a predator 
b. Only villainous animals acts as scavengers...  Very generic. The passage says -- the hyena has most often been caricatured as a buffoon like creature or a villain, preying on the weak. Caricatured as buffon or villain. No link of villain viz scavenger  
c. hyneas are able to live in a variety of enviornments...  Only link is sub saharn. that to for spotted hyneas. Statement is generalizing a lot of things 
d. it is never wise to make assumptions about a wild animal...  "Never" .. about wild animals. Again too generic. This can be inferred as a generalized suggestion... Should be only chosen if nothing else better 
e. early tribal beliefs regarding hyneas were negative..  better than D... Certainly they were. Also it conclusive about early tribal belives and have nothing to do with what it is now or going to be in future

My opinion - E

samarpan.g28 · Answer

Sajjad1994  kindly explain why C is the correct answer here. I am not able to find the suitable living factors involved in the passage.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

The current answer seems doubtful. I think it is a D vs. E debate. Better not bother with this question. I am archiving this.

VerbalBot · Answer

Hello from the GMAT Club VerbalBot!

Thanks to another GMAT Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).

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The spotted Hyneas, or crocuta crocuta, found through sub-saharan afri

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