For The First Time In 5,000 Years, A Spotted Hyena Was Seen In Egypt
For the first time in 5,000 years, a spotted hyena was found in southeastern Egypt. The lone animal was caught and killed about 20 miles from the border of neighboring Sudan. The sighting took place approximately 310 miles north of the known range of the spotted hyena.
Spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) live across much of sub-Saharan Africa, but the species went extinct in Egypt 5,000 years ago due to a changing climate that made the region too dry for their prey.
Researchers think that a regional weather cycle occurring infrequently as part of the Active Red Sea Trough phenomenon may have led to increased rainfall and plant growth.
As a result, a new migration route was opened up for the hyena, where it could graze on an abundance of prey.
The Active Red Sea Trough phenomenon is associated with extreme precipitation events and flash floods that severely affect the Middle East, particularly during the fall.
“My first reaction was disbelief until I checked the photos and videos of the remains,” said Dr. Abdullah Nagy, the lead author of the study from Al-Azhar University of Egypt.
“Seeing the evidence, I was completely taken aback. It was beyond anything we had expected to find in Egypt.”
The research team decided to test the idea of a new migration route by using a normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) as a measure of precipitation and grazing opportunity. They obtained NDVI values from Landsat satellite images taken between 1984 and 2022.
They discovered that droughts had occurred over multiple years with shorter wet periods. The last five years had higher NDVI values compared to the previous two decades. This suggested that increased plant growth could support prey for a traveling spotted hyena.
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“The fact that the corridor area has become less environmentally harsh, offering easier passage along ‘the highway,’ may explain how the hyena reached this far north,” Nagy said.
“However, the motivation for its extensive journey into Egypt is still a mystery that demands further research.”
Normally, spotted hyenas live in complex social groups that can include up to 100 individuals. They are pack hunters that can take down large prey such as zebras, wildebeest, and young rhinos, according to the San Diego Zoo.
However, they are also strong, capable hunters on their own, traveling up to 16 miles in a day. The hyena killed in Egypt could have been hunting alone, but it may have had company.
It was tracked down and killed in late February 2024 after it ate two goats herded by people in Wadi Yahmib in the Elba Protected Area. The locals intentionally hit the hyena with a pickup truck.
Overall, the sighting has forced researchers to rethink the distribution of spotted hyenas and how climate change can affect animal migration.
The study was published in the journal Mammalia.
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