Crossword Genius

Cackling individual feeding urge to laugh (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

hyena

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'cackling individual feeding' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.

'urge to laugh' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'urge' could be 'yen' (yen can mean a craving for something) and 'yen' is located in the answer.
'laugh' could be 'ha' and 'ha' is found within the leftover letters.
No letters remain.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for hyena that I've seen before include "African scavenger" , "Scavenging carnivore" , "He's sometimes spotted" , "Wild mammal" , "Predatory dog-like animal, makes sound like laughing" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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