Chapter 5, Star Summary and Analysis

Star teaches Mark and Delia the most about its species. Star comes to trust Delia and Mark—she sniffs Delia's face one evening not 12 inches away. When Star forages for food at night, the bright eyes of jackals are seen in the dark trailing just behind. Star follows the lionesses but stays a polite distance away until the lions are satisfied and leave left overs. Incredibly, Star can consume the large leg bones of the gemsbok. Until the Owenses did their research, brown hyenas were thought to be solitary animals. They observe Star travel down the same area of the riverbed most nights. She stops and marks the grass stems with a white substance that resembles Elmer's Glue. It is later determined that the white substance is the way the brown hyenas communicate with one another.

They also...