âMy smile as real as a hyenaâs; burns an expressway to my skullâ â Nicky Wire.
Iâve been busting to get this particular post written up and posted so here it is. It was only last week that I made the trip to Harar in Eastern Ethiopia with the intention of Hyena Feeding!! Yes here in this charming town (Harar is also a World Heritage Site) in the eastern highlands of Ethiopia you can partake in some hyena feeding. I was very much up for it and couldnât wait for the moment to arrive. Hereâs an overview of what itâs all aboutâŠhyena feeding in Harar.
Getting to Harar in Eastern Ethiopia
To do the hyena feeding youâll need to be in Harar, and as the feeding occurs at dusk (7pm ish â changes depending on the seasons), youâll need to spend at least a night in the town of Harar. You have to be keen if you want to get there â itâs a long, scary and gruelling bus journey in a crampt and overcrowded mini-bus trust me!
From the capital city, minibuses run from Addis Ababa directly to Harar, but also to Dire Dawa with a connection to Harar. To organise the mini-bus your best bet is actually just talk to locals in the streets and in your hostel and theyâll sort you out. It really is that simple. I booked my mini-bus around 1pm in Addis Ababa and got on my minibus at 8.30pm. The minibus journeys can be long, gruelling and dangerous so be prepared for that. It will be worth it when you rock into Harar. My mini-bus took 15 hours in the end (a story for another post) and cost 300 Birr (which is about 16-17 $US Dollars).
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The view from my second crazy mini-bus when the madness calmed down. These buses were crazy on route to Harar for hyena feeding!
When and where does the Hyena Feeding in Harar take place?
There are now two places in Harar that offer nightly hyena feeding and you can choose either. You donât have to book anything in advance, you just turn up. In terms of finding it â that really wonât be an issue. Honestly when youâre in Harar just get talking to the locals (more likely theyâll talk to you first!) and ask them where it is. You may have to give them a small fee to thank them, and donât hesitate to do that if they genuinely help you â this town is still third world and they can do with the money from tourists.
To get to the hyena feeding in Harar, you can just walk. Itâs a 5-10 minute walk out of the city. I donât have street names or directions â you wonât need that at all. Youâll find it believe me. You can also get a tuk tuk (local blue and white three wheelers) out there but why pay for one when itâs only a short walk. In terms of time, itâs every night at dusk. This means it changes depending on the seasons. I went around 6.45pm just before it got dark.
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We walked down this lane away from the city and its walls to a tree, this is where the hyena feeding would happen.
How much does Hyena Feeding in Harar cost?
For me, and the other three guys that did it, it was 100 Birr each. Thatâs somewhere between $5 and $6 US Dollars. Thatâs totally worth it, believe me. In fact Iâd say itâs a bargain as this is a special travel memory.
What exactly do you mean by Hyena Feeding in Harar?
Well the story goes that at dusk/nightfall wild hyenas roamed the streets of Harar scavenging and looking for food. The locals decided to befriend them and try to tame them over the years and itâs worked. The hyenas now turn up at dusk and are ready for a live show which they are the stars of. The hyenas, in their innocent lives, are unaware of how popular or cool their activity has become. So after years of nightly hyena feeding by the local âhyena menâ, Hararâs people realised the potential of this odd occurrence and as such turned it into a kind of tourist pull. A way for the locals to make money, the hyenas to get fed and the backpackers to get up close and personal to hyenas. Everyoneâs a winner here.
An overview of what happens at the Hyena Feeding in Harar?
Myself and two buddies I met in Harar (Dutch guys Feder and Peter) walked down out of the city past the walls along this descending lane. At the end there is an ominous tree. It is here, in recent darkness that you will do the hyena feeding.
We got there at 6.45pm and paid the hyena man 100 Birr. He shakes your hand and introduces himself, then you sit down by âthe treeâ. Within minutes he is whistling out and calling hyenas to appear from nowhere. And they do. They are quick off the mark. One hyena comes and stands a mere 4-5 metres from us. The hyena knows the score. Itâs going to get fed raw meat by the humans that are here!
The hyenas are used to it as part of a daily routine now! Itâs quite cool in fact! The hyena man goes first so you can see how itâs done. He holds a bit of meat on a stick. The hyena comes up, hungry and eager. It bites it, devours it and walks back a few metres. Youâll be buzzing and you wonât feel scared. I was loving it and couldnât wait to get face to face with one of these beasts!
Then the hyena man bites a piece of wood and holds it in his mouth. Meat is put on the other end of it. Again the hyena rocks up, snatches it with its jaw and walks back. There were about 3 hyenas there at this point, taking it in turns to take the meat. By this stage there were 4 of us, a Canadian guy called Phil had turned up, and as he arrived last he sort of became the one to go up first! We made videos and took photos of him and it was great fun to watch. After Feder had his go, I was third up and so excited.
There are 3 main things you will do in terms of positions when feeding hyenas in Harar, and here are the three:
1. Mouth to Mouth â Hold a piece of wood in your mouth, gripping it with your teeth. Put meat on the other end. The hyena comes up, takes it, eats it and walks back.
2. Hand to Mouth â Hold a piece of wood in your hand. Put meat on the other end. The hyena comes up, takes it, eats it and walks back.
3. On Your Back â Crouch down and the trainer holds a bit of meat above your head near your ear. The only way for a hyena to reach it, is for it to jump on your back and bite it there and then. So be ready â these are heavy beasts!! The hyena will jump on your back, in my case he walked up my back digging his paws in and devouring the food. Itâs hard to stand still and stay calm when you think about whatâs actually happening! This for me was the craziest moment. He jumped right on my back onto my Northern Ireland flag I had draped round me. Then he bit the food right by my ear! It was amazing!
Of the three, the mouth to mouth bit is probably the scariest. For a split second I stared into the hyenas eyes, which was a scary moment. While the hyena jumping on your back is just crazy! The feeding a hyena by hand is the calmest and easiest part. Weâve all done that before with dogs, kangaroos etc. But the whole experience is just memorable!! I will never forget Harar or the hyena experience!!
Is it dangerous to do hyena feeding in Harar?
Yes, of course. Like a lot of things we do on our travels, it has risks. You donât sign any documents, there are no tourist tickets issued. It just happens by âthe treeâ on the backstreets on the edge of Harar. There is no real health and safety in place. But if youâre up for it, DO IT. I highly recommend it. Hyenas have a bigger bite and jaw than lions and cheetahs, incredibly. But they are not hunters or predators â their peronsality is to be more shy and timid. For this reason, they devour any dead meat they see, and they scavenge the streets for any food they can find. They go for the easy stuff â dead animals, rubbish bins and meat that just happens to be lying there. So this means you shouldnât really have any fear. They are not after you and they wonât eat you. They only want the meat that you are displaying in front of them. Be calm and careful and donât react or shout at them of course. Just enjoy it and feed them. Youâll actually find theyâre quite adorable despite their massive bite. When one jumps on your back you will never forget that moment.
Is hyena feeding in Harar very touristy?
Iâm really really glad to say that itâs not. Thereâs no âtour agentâ, thereâs no entrance ticket issued, thereâs no briefing, thereâs no souvenir shop (better not tempt them), thereâs not even a sign by the tree advertising it. And thatâs the way it should remain. Itâs popular but only a few people every night do it â I only spent one night in Harar and thatâs enough time to see the city and feed the hyenas. I seriously hope the hyena feeding in Harar remains untouristy but stays popular. It appears in a lot of the tourist brochures you pick up when you are in Ethiopia but thatâs about it!
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Thankfully the hyena feeding in Harar isnât that touristy. Thereâs no entrance, no tickets, no souvenirs etc. But it does appear in the tourist brochures.
Can you take photos and videos of the hyena feeding in Harar?
Of course!! Thatâs part of the fun. As you can see from the photos on this post, itâs a memory that will last a long time. I made a few videos too, all posted below. You can ask the guides to take your photos or your fellow travel buddies â and youâll meet a few white people in Harar. Itâs easy to spot a tourist here. Also â if youâre scared you donât need to do it â you can just go there and watch it from a distance â no problem. If you do this, itâs honourable to give an amount of money (at your discretion) to the âhyena manâ, as heâs working for you and putting on a show. Iâd say 50 Birr for a non-partaker is a fair sum (just under $3 US Dollars), but if you want to go lower then thatâs up to you. Itâs not like there are tens of tourists all hanging around taking photos of it. There will be a small group of people there only.
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Of course photos are allowed â you want some of this event for your memory! Another photo of me doing the mouth to mouth feeding.
Is hyena feeding on every night in Harar?
This is a good question, and the realistic answer is YES. The hyena men live in Harar, their lives are here and they donât generally leave the town. They are getting paid for doing this, so they will be there. However please be aware of two reasons why the hyena feeding may not be on EVERY night:
1. Weather â a severe rainstorm or thunderstorm would surely make the experience less enjoyable and your camera will get soaked â thereâs no covers here â youâre out in the open. If it does rain heavily when youâre there you might need to schedule yourself to do it the following night. It was hot and a clear sky when I was in Harar so no worries.
2. Religious Festivals â thereâs a chance that during Muslim Festivals the hyena feeding may not be on. I was actually there just after Ramadan and it was fine. But do be aware of this and plan ahead!
Iâd say guys and girls, this is pretty much ALL you need to know about the hyena feeding in Harar. Leave me some comments below if you like it and want to ask me anything! Honestly if you end up in Harar in Eastern Ethiopia, do the hyena feeding!!! Itâs an amazing experience!
Here are a few facts about the hyena just so you get an idea about the animal you will encounter:
The spotted hyena is a dogâlike carnivore found mostly on the dry open plains of the Masai Mara and much of subâSaharan Africa. Dark spots cover yellowâbrown fur and their long muscular necks and powerful shoulders make them instantly recognisable. Hyenas are built for endurance â their large hearts help them pursue prey over great distances. (source: BBC)
â A hyena is not a member of the cat family
â Female hyenas are the dominant ones
â Female hyenas are larger than male hyenas
â Hyenas are scavengers
â Hyenas will generally not hunt for their prey, though they may go after sick, old and weak animals that are still alive
â Hyenas live in social groups but they are structured very differently to lion prides. A clan can have as many as 50 members, always headed by a female.
â Their infamous âlaughterâ is actually a sign of aggression, fear or excitement.
â Hyenas eat almost an ENTIRE animal. (if they take a gazelle, they leave only the horns).
â Hyenas have hugely powerful jaws which can easily crack open almost every large bone they find releasing the nutritious marrow.
â The acidic fluids in a hyenas stomach can digest meat, skin, hair, bone and teeth.
The BBC gives a great overview on hyenas here.
After the hyena feeding we headed together for some food and then some celebratory beers. It had been one crazy night! A photo with my hyena feeding buddies!!
What is it? â Hyena Feeding in Harar
Where is it? â By a tree on a lane on the edge of Harar in Eastern Ethiopia
When is it? â Every night at dusk
Cost â 100 Birr ($5-6 US Dollars *as of August 2013)
Nationalities Met â Ethiopian, Dutch, Canadian, Hyenian
What to bring with you â A charged camera, some insect repellent (Iâm prone to bites) and the money. You donât need anything else, not even a torch.
Key Song:
Manic Street Preachers â So Why So Sad (including the line âmy smile as real as a hyenasâ!):
My Videos from Hyena Feeding in Harar, Ethiopia:
First up (and forgive the darkness of it all), is me feeding the hyenas:
Meeting the hyena man in Harar, Ethiopia:
Preparing for hyena feeding in Harar, Ethiopia:
Hyenas Scavenging for food in Harar, Ethiopia:
Hyena Feeding in Harar, Ethiopia:
Walking Back from Hyena Feeding in Harar, Ethiopia:
Holy Heyna Jonny â the one that jumped you was HUGE! I think I would have needed a fresh change of underwear after that *laugh*
Maria recently postedâŠWordless Wednesday â Italy
Yep it was big but amazing experience Maria. You have to do it if you go to Ethiopia! Safe travels. Jonny
Looks like a very interesting once in a lifetime experience. I donât know if I have the guts to do that though, hyenas are kinda scary!
Samantha recently postedâŠBoating around the Gulf of Papagayo
They are scary Samantha but trust me â if you ever end up in Harar â do it!! You will love it â Hyena even jumps on my back and I still loved it!! Safe travels. Jonny
Itâs amazing how calm you look with that beast on your back hahaha!
Anthony â Man Vs Clock recently postedâŠNew Challenge: Man Vs Worldâs Highest Bungee Jump
Thanks Anthony â hope you get the chance to do hyena feeding too when your travels take you to Ethiopia. Safe travels, Jonny
You need some courage to feed those hyenas by hand or to watch this from close distance, these are ferocious predators which can remove a manâs hand in just a few seconds so I bet you lived some intense sensations doing this.
I want to go there sometime this year at least to watch these awesome predators closely.
Hi Jenna, yes too right â they can be dangerous as some online videos show, they have attacked humans in the past. These days they seem to be just after the dead meat, but there is still that fear element and a bit of adrenalin pumping at the time. Hope you get to Harar to see this this year. Safe travels. Jonny