Within Ethiopia Uncanny
Why Does Harar Feed the Hyenas?
Harar's hyenas blur the line between urban wildlife, ritual performance and belief in invisible protection.
On this page
- The walled city and its nocturnal neighbours
- Hyenas as scavengers, protectors and spirit figures
- Tourism, folklore and living ritual today
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Introduction
Harar’s hyenas are one of Ethiopia’s most remarkable living examples of strange folklore woven into everyday life. Each evening, spotted hyenas emerge from the darkness around the ancient walled city of Harar, where local “hyena men” feed them by hand or with meat balanced on sticks. To visitors, the spectacle can seem almost unbelievable. To many Harari residents, however, the relationship is not simply entertainment. It reflects centuries of coexistence between people and dangerous wild animals, reinforced by stories that hyenas protect the city from evil spirits, carry messages between the human and unseen worlds, and help maintain the balance of urban life. Modern science explains much of the animals’ behaviour through ecology and habituation, yet the traditions surrounding them remain one of Ethiopia’s most distinctive pieces of living night folklore.[The Guardian]theguardian.comLocally known as "hyena men," Abbas Yusuf and his predecessors have cultivated a tradition of feeding hyenas, which in turn help by consu…
Why does Harar feed the hyenas?
Harar, a UNESCO-listed fortified city in eastern Ethiopia, has long stood apart from many other places where hyenas are viewed only as dangerous scavengers. The city developed an unusually tolerant relationship with the animals, which regularly enter through openings in the old walls after dark in search of discarded food. Rather than driving them away entirely, generations of residents came to accept their presence as part of the city’s nightly rhythm.[The Guardian]theguardian.comLocally known as "hyena men," Abbas Yusuf and his predecessors have cultivated a tradition of feeding hyenas, which in turn help by consu…
The famous public feeding tradition is newer than many people assume. Historical evidence suggests hyenas have lived around Harar for centuries, but organised feeding by dedicated “hyena men” appears to date mainly from the 1960s, when one local man reportedly began offering scraps to discourage attacks on livestock. His family continued the practice, which gradually evolved into today’s nightly ritual watched by visitors from around the world.[Wikipedia]WikipediaSpotted hyenas in HararSpotted hyenas in Harar
This distinction matters because folklore often compresses time. Local legends describe an ancient pact between the city and its hyenas, while the modern tourist performance is a recent expression of a much older relationship between Harar’s people and its nocturnal wildlife.
The walled city and its nocturnal neighbours
Harar’s geography helps explain why this relationship developed. The old city sits within historic defensive walls, while rocky hills and farmland beyond provide ideal habitat for spotted hyenas. For generations the animals cleaned up refuse, butchered remains and other organic waste left outside the city, effectively acting as a natural sanitation service before modern waste collection became widespread.[Wikipedia]WikipediaSpotted hyenas in HararSpotted hyenas in Harar
Anthropologist Marcus Baynes-Rock, who spent extended periods studying Harar’s hyenas, argues that the animals should not be seen simply as wild predators wandering into a town. Instead, they occupy a unique ecological niche created by centuries of interaction with people. Individual hyenas become familiar with particular feeding locations and human routines without becoming domesticated. They remain wild animals capable of surviving independently.[The Guardian]theguardian.comLocally known as "hyena men," Abbas Yusuf and his predecessors have cultivated a tradition of feeding hyenas, which in turn help by consu…
Unlike zoo animals or trained performers, Harar’s hyenas come and go freely. Their willingness to approach certain people reflects long-term habituation rather than captivity, making the nightly encounters unusual but not supernatural.
Scavengers, protectors and spirit figures
The most intriguing aspect of Harar’s hyena tradition is not the feeding itself but the meanings attached to it.
Many Harari Muslims have traditionally believed hyenas help keep harmful spirits, often described as djinn, away from the city. In local belief, the animals consume or drive off these invisible beings just as they consume physical waste. Feeding the hyenas therefore becomes part practical exchange, part spiritual relationship: people offer food, while the hyenas provide protection.[The Guardian]theguardian.comLocally known as "hyena men," Abbas Yusuf and his predecessors have cultivated a tradition of feeding hyenas, which in turn help by consu…
Some traditions go further still. Hyenas are described as intermediaries capable of carrying messages between the living and revered saints associated with Harar. This symbolic role helps explain why the animals occupy such a respected place despite their fearsome appearance and reputation elsewhere in Africa.[The Guardian]theguardian.comLocally known as "hyena men," Abbas Yusuf and his predecessors have cultivated a tradition of feeding hyenas, which in turn help by consu…
These beliefs differ markedly from many neighbouring Ethiopian traditions, where hyenas are commonly associated with fear, witchcraft or shape-shifting.
Night folklore beyond the feeding show
Harar’s hyenas also connect with a wider body of Ethiopian night folklore in which darkness blurs the boundary between ordinary animals and supernatural danger.
Across parts of the Ethiopian Highlands, stories tell of people afflicted by the “evil eye” transforming into hyenas after sunset. Modern scholars often refer to these legendary figures as “werehyenas”, although the beliefs themselves vary between communities and should not be treated as a single, uniform tradition. Such tales describe nocturnal attacks, secret identities and anxieties about envy, social outsiders and hidden spiritual power rather than literal zoological events.[Wikipedia]WikipediaOpen source on wikipedia.org.
Harar presents an intriguing contrast. Instead of treating hyenas solely as creatures of menace, local tradition gives them a positive role within the city’s spiritual landscape. The same animal that appears elsewhere as a symbol of danger becomes, in Harar, a respected if unpredictable neighbour.
That contrast makes Harar especially valuable within Ethiopia’s wider strange-history traditions. It demonstrates how folklore reflects local history and social relationships rather than simple superstition.
The Ashura porridge ritual and the old pact
One of Harar’s oldest legends explains how peace between humans and hyenas began.[Wikipedia]WikipediaSpotted hyenas in HararSpotted hyenas in Harar
According to the story, a devastating famine left both people and hyenas desperate. Hungry hyenas allegedly began attacking livestock and vulnerable residents. Religious leaders then established a pact in which the townspeople would prepare special porridge for the animals, ending the violence.
Today, versions of this tradition continue during the Islamic observance of Ashura, when porridge made with clarified butter is offered near shrines outside the city. Folklore holds that the way the leading hyena eats the offering predicts the coming year’s fortunes. If the animals reject the food or consume it unusually, some interpret this as a warning of hardship, famine or disease.[Wikipedia]WikipediaSpotted hyenas in HararSpotted hyenas in Harar
There is no scientific evidence that hyena feeding predicts future events. Instead, the ritual functions much like harvest omens or weather lore found in many cultures: it transforms the behaviour of familiar animals into a symbolic reading of communal hopes and anxieties.
Tourism, performance and living ritual today
Harar’s hyena feeding has become one of Ethiopia’s best-known wildlife experiences, but it exists at the intersection of genuine tradition and modern tourism.
Visitors often watch experienced hyena handlers call individual animals by distinctive sounds before offering meat by hand or inviting tourists to feed the hyenas from sticks held between their teeth. The dramatic presentation has made the ritual internationally famous through travel writing and wildlife documentaries.[Far and Wild Travel]farandwild.travelFar and Wild Travel Feeding hyenas in HararFar and Wild TravelFeeding hyenas in Harar - an unforgettable encounter31 Oct 2022 — These hyena men feed hyenas just outside of the city…
Yet reducing the practice to a tourist show misses its cultural context. Many local families continue to regard the hyenas as meaningful members of Harar’s nocturnal landscape regardless of visitors. Experienced handlers commonly feed the animals even when no tourists are present, reflecting personal relationships built over decades.[The Guardian]theguardian.comLocally known as "hyena men," Abbas Yusuf and his predecessors have cultivated a tradition of feeding hyenas, which in turn help by consu…
Researchers have also noted growing pressures on this unusual coexistence. Urban expansion around Harar reduces the open land through which hyenas traditionally travel, raising questions about whether the centuries-old relationship can survive changing patterns of development.[The Guardian]theguardian.comLocally known as "hyena men," Abbas Yusuf and his predecessors have cultivated a tradition of feeding hyenas, which in turn help by consu…
Why Harar’s hyenas remain a Fortean landmark
Harar’s hyenas sit precisely where Fortean themes become most interesting: between observable reality and enduring belief.
Nobody disputes that wild spotted hyenas enter Harar at night or that people feed them. Those are well-documented facts. What remains culturally fascinating are the meanings attached to those encounters. Are the animals simply intelligent scavengers taking advantage of predictable food sources? Are they symbols of a city that has learned to coexist with a feared predator? Or do traditional stories preserve older ways of understanding unseen dangers, communal identity and the night?
The evidence strongly supports ecological explanations for the hyenas’ behaviour, while anthropology explains why stories about protection, saints and spirits have persisted. Neither perspective completely replaces the other. Together they reveal why Harar remains one of Ethiopia’s richest examples of living strange history: a place where folklore is not confined to old books but still walks the streets after sunset.
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Endnotes
1.
Source: Wikipedia
Title: Spotted hyenas in Harar
Link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotted_hyenas_in_Harar
2.
Source: Wikipedia
Link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werehyena
3.
Source: theguardian.com
Link:https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/apr/05/hyenas-harar-ethiopia-how-city-fell-in-love-with-its-bone-crunching-scavengers-aoe
Source snippet
Locally known as "hyena men," Abbas Yusuf and his predecessors have cultivated a tradition of feeding hyenas, which in turn help by consu...
4.
Source: farandwild.travel
Title: Far and Wild Travel Feeding hyenas in Harar
Link:https://farandwild.travel/wilder/article/feeding-hyenas-in-harar-ethiopia
Source snippet
Far and Wild TravelFeeding hyenas in Harar - an unforgettable encounter31 Oct 2022 — These hyena men feed hyenas just outside of the city...
Additional References
5.
Source: alexanderroberts.com
Title: Begin with Bob in the Ancient Walled City of Harar
Link:https://www.alexanderroberts.com/extension.aspx?id=461
Source snippet
Harar is also famed as the home of Hyena Men such as Abbas Yusuf who, like their fathers before them, have learned to feed the wild hyena...
6.
Source: engoo.com
Link:https://engoo.com/app/lessons/visit-harar-the-ethiopian-city-of-hyenas/tDtOzPzLEe6k1vuPLanYfw
Source snippet
Visit Harar: The Ethiopian City of HyenasVisitors can watch these men feed the hyenas by hand, or from a stick held in their mouth...
7.
Source: anbessa.travel
Title: Home›Blog›Feeding the Hyenas of Harar: Ethiopia’s Wild Ritual.Read more
Link:https://www.anbessa.travel/blog/harar-hyena-feeding-tradition
Source snippet
Feeding the Hyenas of Harar: Ethiopia's Wild Ritual10 Jun 2026 — Inside Harar's hyena-feeding tradition: history, ethics, what to expect...
8.
Source: westwards.de
Title: Feeding the hyenas in Harar, Ethiopia
Link:https://westwards.de/2015/03/harar/
Source snippet
29 Mar 2015 — Hyena Man claps his hands and starts to hum softly, and out of the shadows the hyenas appear: They have the body o...
9.
Source: andreamarchegiani.it
Title: feeding hyenas in harar
Link:https://www.andreamarchegiani.it/travel-blog/ethiopia/feeding-hyenas-in-harar/
Source snippet
25 Nov 2022 — Mouth-feeding hyenas, a one of a kind experience. I'm a little afraid to try, but I won't leave here without feeding a hyen...
10.
Source: youtube.com
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nak86u0S3Zs
Source snippet
Wild Hyena Feeding in Harar, Ethiopia (Shocking Tradition)...
11.
Source: explorepartsunknown.com
Title: the hyenas of harar
Link:https://explorepartsunknown.com/ethiopia/the-hyenas-of-harar/
Source snippet
, Ethiopia18 Jul 2018 — The only other hyena feeding site in Harar is run by Yussef, a Muslim who feeds hyenas camel scraps, but Christia...
12.
Source: roadsandkingdoms.com
Title: the hyenas of harar
Link:https://roadsandkingdoms.com/2014/the-hyenas-of-harar/
Source snippet
20 Oct 2014 — The only other hyena feeding site in Harar is run by Yussef, a Muslim who feeds hyenas camel scraps but, Solomon tells me...
13.
Source: youtube.com
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31kq_GtBDI4
Source snippet
I Met 500 Wild Hyenas in Ethiopia (Dangerous)...
14.
Source: youtube.com
Title: Why Do These Men Feed Wild Hyenas by Hand? | Carter’s WAR
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=To2ZwKKaRzw
Source snippet
Facing the most Dangerous bite in the world | Hynea feeding in Harar,Ethiopia ENG SUBS...
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