Getting to Harar in Eastern Ethiopia
To do the hyena feeding you'll need to be in Harar, and as the feeding occurs at dusk (7pm ish - changes depending on the seasons), you'll need to spend at least a night in the town of Harar. You have to be keen if you want to get there - it's a long, scary and gruelling bus journey in a crampt and overcrowded mini-bus trust me!
You need to get a mini bus from Addis Ababa - the capital of Ethiopia. Once you get the bus it will take a long time through winding dangerous roads to get you to Harar. It can take between 8 and 15 hours. It's hilly but worth it.
Harar offers amazing views and hyenas come out at night.
Walk to the hyena feeding in Harar - it's the quickest way.
What price is it?
For me, and the other three guys that did it, it was 100 Birr each. That's somewhere between $5 and $6 US Dollars. That's totally worth it, believe me. In fact I'd say it's a bargain as this is a special travel memory.
What exactly do you mean by Hyena Feeding in Harar?
At dusk hyenas come out and backpackers want to head and feed them!!
What happens at hyena feeding in Harar?
We walked down to feed hyenas.
We arrived around 7pm and got ready to feed the hyenas
The hyenas are used to it as part of a daily routine now! It's quite cool in fact! It bites it, devours it and walks back a few metres.
Then the hyena man bites a piece of wood and holds it in his mouth. Meat is put on the other end of it. Again the hyena rocks up, snatches it with its jaw and walks back.
These are the three main things you will do at the hyena feeding:
1. Feed them mouth to mouth.
2. Hand into mouth.
3. The hyena will jump on your back, in my case he walked up my back digging his paws in and devouring the food. It's hard to stand still and stay calm when you think about what's actually happening! This for me was the craziest moment. He jumped right on my back onto my Northern Ireland flag I had draped round me. Then he bit the food right by my ear! It was amazing!
Of the three, the mouth to mouth bit is probably the scariest. For a split second I stared into the hyenas eyes, which was a scary moment. While the hyena jumping on your back is just crazy!
Is it dangerous to do hyena feeding in Harar?
It's not too dangerous! Hyenas have a bigger bite and jaw than lions and cheetahs, incredibly. But they are not hunters or predators - their peronsality is to be more shy and timid. For this reason, they devour any dead meat they see, and they scavenge the streets for any food they can find. They go for the easy stuff - dead animals, rubbish bins and meat that just happens to be lying there. So this means you shouldn't really have any fear.
Are photos allowed?
Of course it's fine! It's easy to spot a tourist here. Also - if you're scared you don't need to do it - you can just go there and watch it from a distance - no problem. If you do this, it's honourable to give an amount of money (at your discretion) to the "hyena man", as he's working for you and putting on a show.
Honestly if you end up in Harar in Eastern Ethiopia, do the hyena feeding!!! It's an amazing experience!
To do the hyena feeding you'll need to be in Harar, and as the feeding occurs at dusk (7pm ish - changes depending on the seasons), you'll need to spend at least a night in the town of Harar. You have to be keen if you want to get there - it's a long, scary and gruelling bus journey in a crampt and overcrowded mini-bus trust me!
You need to get a mini bus from Addis Ababa - the capital of Ethiopia. Once you get the bus it will take a long time through winding dangerous roads to get you to Harar. It can take between 8 and 15 hours. It's hilly but worth it.
Harar offers amazing views and hyenas come out at night.
Walk to the hyena feeding in Harar - it's the quickest way.
What price is it?
For me, and the other three guys that did it, it was 100 Birr each. That's somewhere between $5 and $6 US Dollars. That's totally worth it, believe me. In fact I'd say it's a bargain as this is a special travel memory.
What exactly do you mean by Hyena Feeding in Harar?
At dusk hyenas come out and backpackers want to head and feed them!!
What happens at hyena feeding in Harar?
We walked down to feed hyenas.
We arrived around 7pm and got ready to feed the hyenas
The hyenas are used to it as part of a daily routine now! It's quite cool in fact! It bites it, devours it and walks back a few metres.
Then the hyena man bites a piece of wood and holds it in his mouth. Meat is put on the other end of it. Again the hyena rocks up, snatches it with its jaw and walks back.
These are the three main things you will do at the hyena feeding:
1. Feed them mouth to mouth.
2. Hand into mouth.
3. The hyena will jump on your back, in my case he walked up my back digging his paws in and devouring the food. It's hard to stand still and stay calm when you think about what's actually happening! This for me was the craziest moment. He jumped right on my back onto my Northern Ireland flag I had draped round me. Then he bit the food right by my ear! It was amazing!
Of the three, the mouth to mouth bit is probably the scariest. For a split second I stared into the hyenas eyes, which was a scary moment. While the hyena jumping on your back is just crazy!
Is it dangerous to do hyena feeding in Harar?
It's not too dangerous! Hyenas have a bigger bite and jaw than lions and cheetahs, incredibly. But they are not hunters or predators - their peronsality is to be more shy and timid. For this reason, they devour any dead meat they see, and they scavenge the streets for any food they can find. They go for the easy stuff - dead animals, rubbish bins and meat that just happens to be lying there. So this means you shouldn't really have any fear.
Are photos allowed?
Of course it's fine! It's easy to spot a tourist here. Also - if you're scared you don't need to do it - you can just go there and watch it from a distance - no problem. If you do this, it's honourable to give an amount of money (at your discretion) to the "hyena man", as he's working for you and putting on a show.
Honestly if you end up in Harar in Eastern Ethiopia, do the hyena feeding!!! It's an amazing experience!
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