Spotted hyena cubs of high-ranking mothers have a lower probability of infection with and are more likely to die from canine distemper virus (CDV) than cubs of low-ranking mothers. In subadults and adults, the picture is reversed—high-ranking females exhibit a higher infection probability than low-ranking females whereas mortality was similar for both groups. These are the surprising results of a long-term study conducted by scientists at the German Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW), who investigated how social status and age influence the risk of infection with CDV and its consequences for survival. They have just been published in the scientific journal Functional Ecology.