A striped hyena—which is protected under the same law as tigers—was chased and killed for no reason in a village at Solapur district`s Mangalvedha taluka.

On February 9, a video of a motorbike-borne person chasing the animal went viral on social media. Later, another clip emerged where one can see that the legs of the hyena had been tied while a person was torturing it by putting a stick in its mouth.

The incident is said to have taken place on Wednesday. 

The videos prompted local wildlife enthusiasts to contact the Solapur forest department officials. The department responded immediately by alerting the Pune-based NGO RESQ CT, but by the time its members reached the spot, the animal had died.

Wildlife experts and animal lovers have expressed outrage at the cruelty and have demanded strict action against those responsible.

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Dr Clement Ben, additional principal chief conservator of forests (APCCF), Western Wildlife Region, Mumbai, said, “One of the accused has been arrested, and an offence has been registered under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The search for the three other accomplices is underway and they will be arrested soon.”

The striped hyena is the only hyena species that is found in the Indian subcontinent and is protected under the Wildlife Protection Act. Classified as ‘near threatened’ on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species, their global population is estimated to be under 10,000.

Hyenas in India often undergo extremely horrifying trauma in human-wildlife conflict situations and automobile accidents and fall prey to poachers. The country is home to 20 per cent of the world`s striped hyena population and their population is steadily decreasing due to hunting. Increasing anthropogenic pressure on their habitat and food sources has driven the animals closer to human settlements in search of food.

10,000
Global population of striped hyenas

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