It's easy to assume as a visitor why is the hyena even important at all in the African bush and it probably is the most important carnivore roaming the African bush.
Mostly nocturnal which means they're more active at night and can smell dead carcasses as far as 25 miles away and with their bone-crushing teeth they would eat everything including bones and leave the surface as if nothing was ever there.
Lions, leopards, cheetahs and other carnivores in Africa rarely wipe clean a kill or eat one that's been sitting in the sun for days or another carnivore except for the leopard which sometimes does eat other carnivores like the jackal or cheetah, but still are picky eaters compared to the hyena.
The vultures are extremely important too when it comes to scavenging and helping prevent the spread of disease but what makes the hyena exceptionally unique is their super strong jaws that have the ability to open up dead animals with the thickest skins and crush bones, therefore, wiping clean everything.
No other carnivore in the African bush has the ability to do what a hyena does well,which is do a thorough job of cleaning the environment.