In Africa, hyenas are one of the most notorious animals, and they have always been known as the "Second Brother of Africa" and are known for their fierceness and aggressiveness and high carnivorousness.
But in fact, not all hyenas are so annoying, the name "hyena" is the same as the name we usually call other animals, is the general name of all species in the hyena family.
There are two subfamilies under the hyena family , the hyena subfamily and the coyotes subfamily , the hyena subfamily has 3 species , and the coyotes subfamily have only one species , the coyotes.
The striped hyenas and coyotes live alone, so they're a bit different from the swarms we usually see, and the meat preference of both species isn't great.
Note: Hyena sizes are arranged from left to right
The striped hyena is an omnivore, best with meat, and can live without meat; as for the coyote, it has no interest in meat, its main food is termites, in order to better eat termites, it makes a series of physical adjustments, and it has little threat to other animals.
The other two hyenas are brown hyenas and spotted hyenas, which live in groups but do not have much lethality against animals because it is predominantly scavenger.
The one that really deserves the name "African Second Brother" is the spotted hyena, which is the largest of the hyenas and is highly carnivorous, and likes to flock to the prey and will "dig gangs".
All four hyenas are now not domesticated, they have never appeared in the list of domesticated animals in humans, and they are not very likable, and the African region will put stones above the cemetery to prevent hyenas from digging.
However, the striped hyena is said to be easy to domesticate, but it may not have much market. What about the more ferocious and strong spotted hyena, the most ferocious hyena likely to be domesticated?
Harar, surrounded by city walls
There is a peculiar little city in Ethiopia, surrounded by thick and high walls, but the most distinctive thing about it is not the city walls, but a peculiar relationship between the locals and the spotted hyenas.
The town was called Harar, and had a population of about 100,000, but among these people was a special group, known as the Hyenas.
Caption: Harar surrounded by city walls
Hyena people are often seen as the most dangerous profession in the world, feeding wild spotted hyenas without any protection, and spotted hyenas can easily tear them apart.
It's a very new profession that originated around the 1960s, and it's also at this time that wild spotted hyenas became the focal point of the town and has now attracted countless visitors to see it.
So the question is, why do Harars feed hyenas? And why do hyenas accept these foods?
Illustration: Hyenas and wild hyenas
The Purpose of the Harrards in feeding hyenas
It all starts with the walls of Harar!
These walls were built about 500 years ago, and of course, they were originally built not because of hyenas, but to ward off human invaders.
When the walls were repaired, war engulfed the surrounding area, and what was more terrible than war was the famine that followed.
It wasn't just humans who were affected by the famine, but also the top predators, the spotted hyenas, who of course knew the dangers of humans, but in the face of hunger, they attacked humans.
At that time, many people were attacked by spotted hyenas, many of whom were killed.
The Hararers' solution was to drill holes in the walls of the city and start throwing food scraps, their explanation being that hyenas would not attack people if they had food to eat.
You may find this scheme a bit ridiculous, but it works, and it is said that in the past 200 years, there has never been a single incident of a hyena attack on a person.
In fact, in the local area, from time to time, hyenas became very sacred, and in the annual Ashura Festival, they would put three bowls of porridge made of butter on the mountain, and the locals believed that they could predict the blessings of the coming year by drinking porridge from hyenas.
If hyenas eat most of the porridge and leave only a discard, the coming year will be prosperous; if they eat it all, there will be famine; if they eat very little, there will be war.
Picture note: Three bowls of porridge for hyenas
In addition to this, if a hyena kills their livestock, many people will blame it for not feeding it.
Perhaps because of this long-term trust, in the 1960s a farmer named Yusuf began to feed wild hyenas with the food he collected, and the hyenas did not attack him, but happily ate the food it brought with him.
After that, the profession of hyena man was born, and many people imitated Yusuf.
At night, these hyena people take the food collected during the day to a fixed place, and then the hyenas will appear in groups, communicating and begging with humans like pets.
Now the hyenas here are also completely accustomed to local traditions and rarely fear humans, especially those they are familiar with.
Visitors can also feed wild hyenas
After 2002, however, there were said to be only two hyenas left, one of whom was Yusuf's son, who inherited his father's business.
This special relationship between Harar and hyenas has attracted many tourists to visit, so feeding is already a bit of a show, and you can feed these hyenas as long as you spend money.
Of course, this harmony between humans and animals cannot be called domestication, but if we think of the ancestors of modern dogs, they went through a similar process to these spotted hyenas today.
Screenshot of the movie
The ancestors of modern dogs entered human society
There are many theories about how modern dogs first entered human society, and there is a movie about a tribal leader's son who fell into the air and went missing with the tribesmen, and eventually he got the help of a wolf to return to the tribe.
The film tells from one side how modern dogs enter human society, but wolves basically do not communicate with people in this way.
One theory that is now more accepted is that the ancestors of the earliest dogs received human food residues on the edge of the area where humans were active, much like the modern Harrell and spotted hyenas.
Over time, the ancestors of dogs also built trust with humans like these spotted hyenas.
We can make the guess that if the relationship between Harrells and hyenas continues in this way, it is estimated that top predators such as spotted hyenas will also become domestic pets centuries later.
Those hyenas that are most accustomed to getting food from people may gain a selective advantage, so over time they will become more familiar with humans until they become pets.
At last
Harrell's spotted hyenas are a very special group, not in other regions, so don't be partial, the best option to see spotted hyenas is to hide away.
Regardless of whether hyenas will eventually be domesticated or not, the Hararers' approach to hyenas does give us some lessons about people and nature.
Perhaps what the Harels are doing now is the best way for man and nature to live in harmony. If you don't hurt them, they won't hurt you.