By: Staff Reporter
The Ethiopian government is through the wildlife authority coordinating hunters who are tracking down deadly hyenas near the capital, Addis Ababa.
The mass HYENA-HUNT decision follows an increase in hyena attacks on humans in the city and its peripheral residential areas.
According to the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation (EWCA) eight people including ”children, elders and [youths],” have been killed in Addis Ababa in the last two years but experts say the expansion of housing and logging are responsible for the increase in attacks.
Earlier this month, a hyena attacked and killed a young man inside a modern residential development in Lege Tafo town, 17km (11 miles) from the capital.
Residents heard the man crying for help and managed to chase the hyena away but they were unable to save his life.
“There are a lot of hyenas. You see them around after 18:00,” one woman, who is a mother of two, said.
The latest incident occurred amid calls for the elimination of hyenas.
‘”Hyenas takes up residence inside unfinished houses,” one of the guards in Lege Tafo said adding that there were “many” of the mammals in the area.
The authorities then responded by organising the hunt, hoping to push the hyenas into nearby forests.
”We have killed seven hyenas [in the past few days],” Budamo Banki, EWCA employee told the media.
In August, a young man lost both his legs when he was attacked in the suburb of Burayu.
”I was walking down the hill from my house. I saw an animal [hyena] crossing by. I saw only one. Then I don’t know what I went through. I only woke up the next day,” Berhanu Dhaba told the BBC at the time.
Many of the hyena packs live in the hills surrounding Addis Ababa, including the forest in Entoto.
In the past they have attacked rough sleepers and have also been blamed for digging up corpses.
In the past hyenas have been hailed for their consumption of waste thrown away by humans as well as and keeping the feral dog population under control. Additional reporting by BBC Africa
