Coming up in the Jan. 2011 edition of Texas Fish & Game will be a story about a Texas lady who had a scary encounter with hyenas.
Her story got me to researching hyenas more heavily so I thought I would share a bit of what I have found.
Hyenas have a reputation of being sort of a “funny” animal with their strange, “laughing” vocalizations. In reality, however, hyenas are dangerous predators that will gather in packs and taken on animals as large as lions and will attack people.
Hyenas have extremely powerful jaws that can snap bones in a single bite and will eat every single piece of an animal. When a pack of hyenas gets through with a carcass, there is only some blood left and most of the time they lap that up.
Parts of Africa, particularly Somaliland , are seeing a huge increase in hyena attacks on people according to Softpedia news.
“People have become so afraid of them, that families in Ainabo district, situated 300 kilometers away from the Somaliland capital, Hargesia, have been sleeping with guns near to them in order to protect themselves and their relatives. Officials have added that hyenas live in tremendously large packs in this district and have launched attacks on livestock in the past, but moved to humans, mostly women and children, in the last few years.”
“People from Eritrea, also situated in the Horn of Africa, have also reported the fact that large packs of hyenas have made several attacks within the capital, Asmara, which prompted people to form committees to develop a plan to defend themselves and the city against what seem to be predator hyenas,” they reported.
Hyenas in the zoo make look lazy and harmless but they are vicious predators.
(Photo courtesy Joan Goma’)