Carnivore conflicts gnaw at Neandertals

Neandertals came into close, perhaps deadly, contact with hyenas that hunted or scavenged the same prey as they did, a new study suggests.

Neandertals and hyenas competed for prey and for protected spots to consume food, Erik Trinkaus of Washington University in St. Louis and his coworkers contend in the May 17 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.