The Hyena Man of Harar

[N.O.R.F]

As darkness falls over the ancient walled city of Harar in Ethiopia, local people and tourists make their way to the outskirts of the city to see a bizarre spectacle.

 

With only the headlights of a car to illuminate the night's events, a small group of curious spectators gathers a few feet from Mulugeta Wolde Mariam, the hyena man of Harar.

 

He then calls out to the 30 or 40 wild hyenas which inhabit the forests surrounding the city.

Within minutes, seven or eight pairs of luminous eyes appear in the dark. Mulugeta intensifies his calls and the wild animals draw closer.

In short bursts, he loudly makes sounds in a combination of his own "hyena dialect," English and the local language of Afaan Oromo.

 

He starts calling out to the hyenas by name.

"I know all the hyenas well. I have given them all names which they respond to," says the 26-year-old.

 

From a small plastic bag, he produces pieces of meat provided by the curious spectators.

Mulugeta calls out to the other hyenas then places the pieces of raw meat in his mouth.

The hyenas advance towards him and snatch the meat from his mouth with their large teeth, before scuttling back a few feet.

"I have been doing this for 11 yea

rs now. I was taught by my friend who is much older and more experienced than me. I have never felt scared and trust the hyenas totally," he says.

"There is no danger unless you are scared, as the hyenas sense fear," says Mulugeta.

 

The origin of feeding the hyenas date back to the great famine of the late 19th Century.

 

http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/2257-the-hyena-man-of-harar

 

[N.O.R.F]

Mad man!

[BOB]

I thought it was about a man who would turn into a Hyena and prey on children like the stories we used to hear when we were kids...remember those stories?

 

 

Peace, Love & Unity.

[Haatu]

^ Not everywhere is Kismayo