Among the Bone Eaters: Encounters with Hyenas in Harar (original) (raw)
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Hyenas Like Us: Social Relations with an Urban Carnivore in Harar, Ethiopia
2012
"This thesis is an exploration of the ongoing, dynamic processes which shaped hyena and human relations in a Muslim town in Ethiopia. These processes had their roots in world prehistory; in millions of years of coexistence which is evidenced by the fossilised remains of human and hyena ancestors. Whereas hyenas recently disappeared from much of their former range, they persisted in eastern Ethiopia and figure prominently in the oral traditions and historical accounts of the walled city of Harar. At the time of writing, the hyenas of Harar combined with hyena feeders and tourists in processes in which two hyena feeding places were evolving along different lines. Yet the hyenas were also engaged with Harari people in face-to-face encounters and the maintenance of Harari traditions. Where hyenas were constantly trying to avoid having to interact with people, they were in turn shaping the ways in which people could interact with, conceive of, and form representations of them. Many Harari people recognised this and attested to a kind of engagement with hyenas that is normally reserved for intra-human relations. Under the guidance of an unusual hyena named Willi, I explore here what it means to be engaged with hyenas at an inter-subjective level. Together, we challenge the established ethical, theoretical and methodological principles which guide and separate human and animal research, providing rich material for theoretical debates on humananimal relations."
Coexistence of Human and Hyena and Associated Impacts in Haramaya District of Eastern Ethiopia
Revista chilena de historia natural
Coexistence of Human and Hyena and Associated Impacts in Haramaya District of Eastern Ethiopia Sintayehu W. Dejene1* and Nigusse Dechassa1 1College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Haramaya University *Correspondence: E-mail: sintekal@gmail.com or sintayehuw@haramaya.edu.et College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Haramaya University, PO Box 138, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia. Globally, many large carnivore populations are in decline. Spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) are the most abundant large carnivores exist in most sub Saharan African countries. Coexistence of human and hyena and associated impacts and feeding habit was studied in Haramaya district of Eastern Ethiopia from October, 2011 to December, 2013. 110 households from four sub-districts (Tinike, Finkile, Kerensa and Bocheke) of Haramaya district were selected randomly for interview. The questionnaires was designed to assess various parameters in relation to issues including eliciting information on the knowledge ...
The Ontogeny of Hyena Representations Among the Harari People of Ethiopia
Africa, 2016
ABSTRACTEmploying a theoretical framework developed by ecologist Paul Shepard, I explore here the ways in which Harari people's representations of spotted hyenas develop in tandem with their ontogenesis. The Harari word for hyena,waraba, takes on different meanings depending on the socialization of Harari individuals and the particular life stages of these persons. In early childhood,warabais a terrifying beast of the imagination. As children mature, their initial conceptions are overturned as they learn that local hyenas are in fact peaceful; it is the hyenas from beyond Harar's borders whom they learn to fear. Throughout and beyond middle childhood, representations of hyenas are employed in folktales, songs, chants and idioms to represent other humans while at the same time reflecting an engagement with the local hyenas. The representations culminate in the conception ofDerma Sheikh: the reliable, protective, religious hyena who shares the same interest in peace and securi...
High striped hyena density suggests coexistence with humans in an agricultural landscape, Rajasthan
PLOS One, 2022
Understanding the mechanism of coexistence, where carnivores adapt to humans and vice versa in the shared landscape, is a key determinant of long-term carnivore conservation but is yet to be comprehensively examined. We explored the coexistence mechanism of striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena) and humans in the shared landscape of Sawai Mansingh Wildlife Sanctuary (SMS WLS), Rajasthan, from November 2019 to March 2021. We used data derived from motion sensors-based surveys, satellite remote sensing images, and household questionnaires to understand socio-ecological, environmental and anthropogenic factors facilitating hyena persistence in the shared landscape. The high density (12 individuals/ 100 km 2) striped hyena in the landscape revealed the coexistence with humans. Being scavengers, they get subsidised food sources and are perceived as low-risk species by humans. Striped hyena minimised temporal activity during the daytime when human activity peaked. However, the highest activity overlap was observed in the agricultural area (Δ1 = 0.39), and likely depicts the high activity due to agricultural practices. While the human settlement was positively associated with the detection of hyenas, the probability of striped hyena captures increased with decreasing distance from human settlement, possibly influenced by high carcass availability, providing the easiest food resources to striped hyena, and allowing them to coexist with humans. This study demonstrates the coexistence of hyenas and humans in the shared landscape supported by mutual benefits, where hyenas benefit from anthropogenic food from scavenging, while humans benefit from waste removal and the non-lethal nature hyenas.
Nonhuman carnivores have historically been demonized, lethally controlled, and extirpated throughout many parts of the world—indeed, they bear the brunt of this in some places still today. To understand why this is still occurring, it is important to appreciate the historical events that have shaped and led to this situation. We use a qualitative case study in Namibia that draws on an archival review and eight months of ethnography to describe the widespread control of nonhuman carnivores in the country, from the 1800s to the present day. Calling upon Val Plumwood’s eco-feminist typology of domination of the “Other,” and integrating it with current advances in inter- sectional theory, we explain the apparent parallels in this process of domi- nation of Namibian nonhuman predators alongside its Indigenous peoples by European settlers. We discuss the process of colonization of predators and people, highlighting how perceived power differentials provided an ideal situation to dominate ...