Rogue Hyena

Sent: Wednesday, February 25, 2009 5:45 PM
To: staffrva
Subject: Hyena Attack

Dear Staff,

On Sunday morning a man names James was walking from Korio towards Mai Mahiu at about 5:45 am.

Korio is out the lower road past the girl’s school. He was in the area of the gravel / sand pits where a number of RVA students ride their pikis.

His flashlight shone into the eyes of a hyena which promptly attacked him. He tried to fight it off with a rungu and was bitten in both hands. The thumb on his right hand was severed.

He managed to escape back to his home and then was taken to the hospital. The hyena remained in the area to chase one other man who escaped up a tree. The third man to come by sounded the alarm and many from the community came and killed the hyena.

Our concerns are that this was unusual behavior for a hyena, that hyenas often travel in pairs, and that the drought has caused many animals to be very hungry.

RVA is restricting hiking or running out the lower road towards monkey corner until we can verify whether there are any other hyenas around.

Thanks,

Tim

Every so often we get reminders that life in Africa is a bit different . . .