An unusual event occurred in Wadi Yahmib, a village within Egypt's Elba Protected Area, where an animal killed two goats belonging to local residents. In response, villagers pursued the carnivore in a pickup truck and ultimately killed it.
Upon receiving a video of the incident from a colleague in the region, Dr. Abdullah Nagy, a zoologist at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, initially thought it was a prank. He expressed skepticism, questioning whether the footage was taken in Egypt, as he believed the species depicted did not exist in the country.
However, subsequent photos confirmed that a spotted hyena had indeed crossed into Egypt, approximately 300 miles north of its nearest known population in Sudan. This sighting marks the first record of the species in Egypt in 5,000 years.
While two other hyena species—the striped hyena and the aardwolf—are found in Egypt, the spotted hyena went extinct in the region millennia ago due to changing climatic conditions. During this period, other animals, such as warthogs and zebras, also disappeared from the area.
Dr. Nagy, along with colleague Said El-Kholy and two others, published findings regarding this encounter in the journal Mammalia this month. Dr. Nagy expressed disbelief at the hyena's sighting; however, carnivore ecologist Christine Wilkinson from the University of California, Santa Cruz, was less surprised, citing the adaptive nature of spotted hyenas.
Despite their reputation as scavengers, spotted hyenas primarily hunt for food. They are known for their complex matriarchal social structures and problem-solving abilities, allowing them to thrive in various environments. Some hyenas even live harmoniously among humans, such as in Harar, Ethiopia, where they are fed by locals.
As the largest of the four living hyena species, spotted hyenas inhabit sub-Saharan Africa and are reportedly faring better than other large carnivores like lions and leopards, according to conservation biologist Andrew Jacobson.
Dr. Nagy and his team conducted research using satellite imagery to understand how the hyena traveled to Egypt. They discovered that the region, typically arid, had recently experienced wetter conditions, resulting in increased vegetation and likely a rise in herbivore populations for the hyenas to prey upon.
Dr. Jacobson, Dr. Wilkinson, and their colleagues are collaborating with the International Union for Conservation of Nature to update the spotted hyena's range map, with plans to submit their findings for publication later this year.
While some spotted hyenas are thriving, others face challenges, particularly in west and central Africa. A significant threat to their survival comes from human-wildlife conflict; when hyenas kill livestock, local communities often feel compelled to retaliate to protect their livelihoods.
Following the death of the Egyptian hyena, Dr. Nagy requested that villagers bury the animal to prevent decomposition. He hopes to visit Wadi Yahmib next month to collect the skeleton for study at his university's museum, as he believes it could offer valuable insights despite its unfortunate fate.