“We use a heavy stick to hit the hyenas on the head when they misbehave,” Abdullahi said. “We knock them down on the ground. All of us hold the sticks in case the animals become aggressive.”

However, Abdullahi’s daughter, six-year-old “Mummy,” played with the animals with no sign of fear. She even rode a hyena as if it were a miniature, slope-shouldered pony. “She cannot be harmed,” said Abdullahi. “It’s the same thing with the snakes and monkeys. She has taken a potion of traditional herbs and has been bathed with it. So her safety from the animals is guaranteed for the rest of her life.”

The animal handlers make use of herbs, concoctions, powders, amulets and esoteric incantations to catch and train their captives, protect themselves against harm and build up their own confidence. Amulets are also placed into “akayau,” metal rings tied around the men’s ankles, to enhance their dancing skills. The handlers believe that humans are capable of transforming themselves into animals such as hyenas, hence the need for powerful voodoo charms and incantations as protection. [ READ MORE ]

[ MORE PICTURES ]

How Dangerous is This Wild Animal — The Hyena?: The bite force per square inch of a mature hyena rivals that of a croc or an alligator! They hunt in packs like Republicans!

Hyenas (Republicans) vs Lions (Democrats). Hyenas Kill 9 lions defeat Pride, in the Serengeti [August 20th 2009]

Physical Characteristics: The hyena is Africa’s most common large carnivore. Over the years hyenas and humans have come into close contact in Africa and, in earlier times, in Asia and in Europe, often leading to mutual predation. In ancient Egypt hyenas were domesticated, fattened and eaten, and in turn humans have on occasion become food for hyenas. Reputed to be cowardly and timid, the hyena can be bold and dangerous, attacking animals and humans.

Except for the aardwolf, all living hyena species are hunters and scavengers. They have extremely strong jaws in relation to their body size and have a very powerful digestive system with highly acidic fluids, making them capable of eating and digesting their entire prey, including skin, teeth, horns and bones. Hair and hooves are usually regurgitated. Because their digestive system deals very well with bacteria, they have no aversion to and readily eat carrion.

The Spotted Hyena is primarily a predator, unlike some of its cousins. Spotted Hyenas are successful pack hunters of small to large sized ungulates, and are the most abundant carnivores in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Female spotted hyenas are dominant over the males and outweigh them by about 3 pounds. It is difficult to distinguish between the sexes in the field because external female genitalia have a superficial similarity to those of the male. Why the female hyena developed in this manner is unknown, but it may have been necessary for them to appear large and strong to protect their young from males, as hyenas have cannibalistic tendencies. [ READ MORE ]

Sources and References:

1.   The Hyena Men of Nigeria: http://adetokunboabiola.blogspot.com/2007/11/blog-post.html

2.   http://brea.kfa.st/ak47/008/the_hyena_people_of_nigeria/

3.   Pieter Hugo :: The Hyena Men of Abuja, Nigeria 2005 II — http://davidmurodesign.com/blog/?p=155

4.   Real Gangsters Have Hyenas: http://www.thecrusade.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=19259

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