Not sure we are saying anything different.
selection pressure that favors finer haired individual will allow them to take a more prominent role within the group, will allow their offspring to spread the characteristic into the general population
Agreed. But that does not seem to have happened within the hyenas.
similar pressure on similar species will result in similar (but not identical) reactions.
Only if the potential is there. There have to be finer haired individuals and in addition, the finer hair must actually provide an advantage when it comes to living long enough to reproduce.
If
- the mutation that leads to finer hair is missing,
- the finer haired individuals do not have a significant advantage when it comes to reproducing,
then you will not see the emergence of finer haired individuals.
Aslan is not a Tame Lion