Mouth-to-mouth wild hyena feeding in Harar, Ethiopia
There is an ancient tradition of wild hyena feeding in Harar, Ethiopia, which is still being practiced today. As far as I understand, this is a rite of peace-offering. The wild hyenas enter the city in great numbers during the night, and they are quite capable of snapping limbs from poor fellows sleeping on the streets. Those wild beasts are really strolling through the city in the dark, I saw them myself!
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For several centuries the rite of hyena feeding has been performed by a single family. Fathers were passing the skill to their sons, and so on.
The guy on the first photo carries a basket full of rotten meat outside the city wall and summons hyenas with scary inhuman shouts. The beasts come and get their portion of stinking meat. For the greater effect the feeding is done mouth-to-mouth style...
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Don't know why, maybe because of the brutal expression on my face, but this guy called me from the crowd of onlookers and asked if I wanted to perform the rite together with him. Next day Ethiopian drivers who worked as our guides greeted me with extra warmth, friendly hugs and handshakes, invited me to their families, offered me the best women. They told me they never saw a white guy feeding hyenas.
They took me to a back room in the market to a woman who sells khat leaves. We sat down around her and chew the leaves. All that day I was glowing from inside out. My brain was crystal clear. I felt so good I loved everything and everybody around...
Well, enough about khat. Here is a couple of more images of hyenas:
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Comments
why on earth would you do
why on earth would you do something like this?
the mouth of a hyena is known to be full of bacteria.
if you didn't know, hyenas eat rotten meat, they are known as scavengers.
there stomach acid is so strong that it could melt a nail.
well, maybe in the future you might get laid, but you might die faster.
You don't spend a lot of
You don't spend a lot of time outside, do you?
.
Its called living life and enjoying every experience.
-DK
That hyena probably has less
That hyena probably has less bacteria in its mouth than the blogger. We're pretty disgusting.
I don't know what these
I don't know what these people are thinking. The human mouth is full of dangerous bacteria that could cause serious health problems for these hyenas. Think people, think!
So much is possible without fear
I had heard about hyena feeding before but seeing this is amazing. These wild dogs are so powerful with huge jaws and yet this is possible.
Thanks for sharing your pics and words!
Good name for the site
Judging by the pics, MeIgnorant is a very good name for this site.
Man that guy is really
Man that guy is really giving it to those hyenas
Don't ask the guy if hes
Don't ask the guy if hes stupid for feeding these animals with his mouth. True, hyenas might be scavengers, but the amount of bacteria in our mouth/stomach is the same as theirs. As long as hes not sucking up the hyenas saliva, he would be fine.
To someone who lacks a sense of adventure, this might seem like a stupid thing to do. But then again, why would someone who lacks a sense of adventure be in Ethiopia in the first place?
Thank you for sharing your wonderful pictures and experiences. I'm glad that you had the opportunity to experience something most people don't even have the courage to try.
If you paid attention to the
If you paid attention to the details, he is using a stick to put the meat on and they are grabbing the meat off the stick. And those of you that can't figure out why he would do this need help. You only live once (at least from what I know) so go have fun. Get out and enjoy life. I do it everyday driving :p
Not the first...
You were not the first white to do it. In 2005 and 2006 I was in Harar and mouth-fed the Hyenas together over 100 people from our Swedish/American missions team. A lot of them were girls.
Proof:
www.bildbox.se/1088.html
www.missionsos.org/en/media/ (click Harar Pictures)
Feeding the Hyena
Came across this page because I am helping my 9 year old with a report on Hyenas. Over thirty years ago I lived in Ethiopia with my parents who were military advisors and virologists. We went out to a field down from the hills/mountains. The Hyena man would have us dim our car lights. The same time every night the Hyena man would call upon the hyenas. They would slowly come forward from all directions in a half circle. They would wait for the Hyena man to call upon him. If you paid the Hyena man a dollar or two he would allow you to feed them as well. I was about twelve at the time. The Hyena man had me hold the meat rather than put it in my mouth. The Hyena snatch the meat out of my hand. I don't remember being scared.