Harar hyenas
A unique experience and sight to be had in the ancient city of Harar to the east of
Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia.
Here the spotted hyena is not seen in the same negative way as in most other parts of the world, but in Harar they are positively revered. Scavenging cackles of hyena roam the streets at night and clear away the bones and other left-overs thrown outside by the town's butchers. Hyenas have very strong jaws and can indeed crush any bone with their mouths.
The most spectacular thing, however, are the so-called “hyena men of Harar”. These have habituated two cackles of hyena who you can therefore meet close up, as they are being fed in the headlights of cars after dark at night. In fact, tourists are often invited to take part and feed a hold a stick in their moth with a morsel of meat at its end so that you can see these strong and magnificent, but also somewhat menacing-looking creatures right in the eye (and mouth).
It's certainly something I'd want to include in my itinerary when I finally make it to
Ethiopia (hopefully in late 2019).
The photo above was kindly supplied by Howard E. Sawyer.
