How to get to Harar Ethiopia
You need to get to Harar to do the hyena feeding which happens around 7pm at night and its a long bus ride so be ready for it!
From the capital city, minibuses run from Addis Ababa directly to Harar, but also to Dire Dawa with a connection to Harar. To organise the mini-bus your best bet is actually just talk to locals in the streets and in your hostel and they'll sort you out. It really is that simple. I booked my mini-bus around 1pm in Addis Ababa and got on my minibus at 8.30pm. The minibus journeys can be long, gruelling and dangerous so be prepared for that. It will be worth it when you rock into Harar. My mini-bus took 15 hours in the end (a story for another post) and cost 300 Birr (which is about 16-17 $US Dollars).
The view over the old city of Harar - a great spot by day and the hyenas come out at night!
It's a short walk to the hyena feeding in Harar.
What price is it?
Its costs about 100 birr each - 5 US dollars.
What is hyena feeding?
Well the story goes that at dusk/nightfall wild hyenas roamed the streets of Harar scavenging and looking for food. The locals decided to befriend them and try to tame them over the years and it's worked. The hyenas now turn up at dusk and are ready for a live show which they are the stars of. The hyenas, in their innocent lives, are unaware of how popular or cool their activity has become. So after years of nightly hyena feeding by the local "hyena men", Harar's people realised the potential of this odd occurrence and as such turned it into a kind of tourist pull. A way for the locals to make money, the hyenas to get fed and the backpackers to get up close and personal to hyenas. Everyone's a winner here.
An overview of what happens at the Hyena Feeding in Harar?
We headed down the street to feed hyenas.
We arrived around 7pm and got ready to feed the hyenas
The hyena man goes first so you can see how it's done. He holds a bit of meat on a stick. The hyena comes up, hungry and eager.
There were about 3 hyenas there at this point, taking it in turns to take the meat. By this stage there were 4 of us, a Canadian guy called Phil had turned up, and as he arrived last he sort of became the one to go up first!
There are 3 main things you will do in terms of positions when feeding hyenas in Harar, and here are the three:
1. Mouth to Mouth - Hold a piece of wood in your mouth, gripping it with your teeth. Put meat on the other end. The hyena comes up, takes it, eats it and walks back.
2. Feeding the hyenas 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!
The feeding a hyena by hand is the calmest and easiest part. We've all done that before with dogs, kangaroos etc. But the whole experience is just memorable!! I will never forget Harar or the hyena experience!!
How dangerous is hyena feeding in Harar?
Yes, of course. Like a lot of things we do on our travels, it has risks. You don't sign any documents, there are no tourist tickets issued. It just happens by "the tree" on the backstreets on the edge of Harar. There is no real health and safety in place. But if you're up for it, DO IT. I highly recommend it.
Can you take photos and videos of the hyena feeding in Harar?
Taking photos is fine - you can even watch if you're too scared! I'd say 50 Birr for a non-partaker is a fair sum (just under $3 US Dollars), but if you want to go lower then that's up to you. It's not like there are tens of tourists all hanging around taking photos of it. There will be a small group of people there only.
Honestly if you end up in Harar in Eastern Ethiopia, do the hyena feeding!!! It's an amazing experience!
You need to get to Harar to do the hyena feeding which happens around 7pm at night and its a long bus ride so be ready for it!
From the capital city, minibuses run from Addis Ababa directly to Harar, but also to Dire Dawa with a connection to Harar. To organise the mini-bus your best bet is actually just talk to locals in the streets and in your hostel and they'll sort you out. It really is that simple. I booked my mini-bus around 1pm in Addis Ababa and got on my minibus at 8.30pm. The minibus journeys can be long, gruelling and dangerous so be prepared for that. It will be worth it when you rock into Harar. My mini-bus took 15 hours in the end (a story for another post) and cost 300 Birr (which is about 16-17 $US Dollars).
The view over the old city of Harar - a great spot by day and the hyenas come out at night!
It's a short walk to the hyena feeding in Harar.
What price is it?
Its costs about 100 birr each - 5 US dollars.
What is hyena feeding?
Well the story goes that at dusk/nightfall wild hyenas roamed the streets of Harar scavenging and looking for food. The locals decided to befriend them and try to tame them over the years and it's worked. The hyenas now turn up at dusk and are ready for a live show which they are the stars of. The hyenas, in their innocent lives, are unaware of how popular or cool their activity has become. So after years of nightly hyena feeding by the local "hyena men", Harar's people realised the potential of this odd occurrence and as such turned it into a kind of tourist pull. A way for the locals to make money, the hyenas to get fed and the backpackers to get up close and personal to hyenas. Everyone's a winner here.
An overview of what happens at the Hyena Feeding in Harar?
We headed down the street to feed hyenas.
We arrived around 7pm and got ready to feed the hyenas
The hyena man goes first so you can see how it's done. He holds a bit of meat on a stick. The hyena comes up, hungry and eager.
There were about 3 hyenas there at this point, taking it in turns to take the meat. By this stage there were 4 of us, a Canadian guy called Phil had turned up, and as he arrived last he sort of became the one to go up first!
There are 3 main things you will do in terms of positions when feeding hyenas in Harar, and here are the three:
1. Mouth to Mouth - Hold a piece of wood in your mouth, gripping it with your teeth. Put meat on the other end. The hyena comes up, takes it, eats it and walks back.
2. Feeding the hyenas 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!
The feeding a hyena by hand is the calmest and easiest part. We've all done that before with dogs, kangaroos etc. But the whole experience is just memorable!! I will never forget Harar or the hyena experience!!
How dangerous is hyena feeding in Harar?
Yes, of course. Like a lot of things we do on our travels, it has risks. You don't sign any documents, there are no tourist tickets issued. It just happens by "the tree" on the backstreets on the edge of Harar. There is no real health and safety in place. But if you're up for it, DO IT. I highly recommend it.
Can you take photos and videos of the hyena feeding in Harar?
Taking photos is fine - you can even watch if you're too scared! I'd say 50 Birr for a non-partaker is a fair sum (just under $3 US Dollars), but if you want to go lower then that's up to you. It's not like there are tens of tourists all hanging around taking photos of it. There will be a small group of people there only.
Honestly if you end up in Harar in Eastern Ethiopia, do the hyena feeding!!! It's an amazing experience!
About the Author:
For lots more brilliant travel articles like Hyena feeding ethiopia head to Jonny Blair's magnificent travel site for ideas on backpacking in ethiopia
