The above link to the “Gadawan-Kura” Hyena Men was disturbing to me. I can’t really describe what it is I’m feeling after reading the article and seeing those pictures; I think it’s a combination of disgust at the exploitation of those wild creatures and sorrow, for the whole situation. What a horrible existence for them all, men included.

I have checked online from time to time to try to find an update, or any additional information, with no success.

If the animal was a hyena, it was surely a striped hyena, since that species lives in India. Hyena attacks on people are very common in parts of Africa; however almost all of those attacks are by spotted hyenas, Crocuta crocuta, which are bigger and much more aggressive than the striped hyenas.

Here is an interesting photo of a striped hyena threat display.

Note how short the face appears, when the lips are pulled into a snarl, and how prominent the teeth are. That, together with the fact that striped hyenas can appear to double suddenly in size, by erecting their manes (the long hairs of which usually lie flat) make me wonder whether striped hyenas could be the source of some historic legends of shapeshifters and werewolves. Coming upon one suddenly in a forest thicket, and seeing that face with a body appearing to suddenly grow huge, would certainly leave an impression.

Also, I found this story, with photos, while I was looking for an update on the hyena attacks in Nigeria. This is not a recent article; I believe most of the photos were shot from about 2005 to 2007, but it’s an interesting but disturbing portrait of humans’ interaction with hyenas and other wildlife. Here’s the link to the photos and articles, by Pieter Hugo: ‘Gadawan Kura’ - The Hyena Men ”

I can’t vouch for the authenticity of the photos, since they all appear to have some degree of hand-tinting, but they look genuine, aside from that.

It does mean you can’t have your grandchildren visit! A sweet natured lurcher any day in preference!

I prefer to think the photo is of a Shunka Warak’in, in fact it looks like it to me and isnt there a suspicion of a long tail?

There are some interesting pics on cryptomundo elswhere which may have some bearing apart from those of the Shunka Warak’in and its possibly stuffed example, i.e. at-C2C cryptic canid re Milwaukee river canid and amazing Nebraska cryptic photos. These two look like the same animal. I think I can see faint stripes on both.

Have DNA or hair tests been completed on the possible stuffed Shunka Warak’in? I am not too confident about the results of DNA testing as even something new would likely to be written off as canid and one you start looking into DNA you realise there is a lot of uncharted water and room for uncertainty.

They may be trainable, but hey they are also responsible for a lot of human deaths in Africa. If you want one as a pet, you’re crazy. These things have often taken people out of their tents etc when camping. In rural Limpopo South Africa, there was recently a case of a Hyena taking small children, albeit an old male hyena. These are very dangerous animals.

Another out-of-place animal to frighten the you-know-what out of people.

Pardon me if I ”laugh” at this.
Yep, irresponsibility is an innate human characteristic…