Hyena People of Ethiopia
Gordon Buchanan journeys across Ethiopia to find out how the tribes here can live so close to hyenas, a fierce predator loathed and feared by many people.
Ethiopia has more hyenas than anywhere else in the world, and Gordon Buchanan wants to find out why. He starts in Addis Ababa. Local hyena expert Girum Henok takes Gordon to see hyenas at night, Girum tells Gordon that hyenas are tolerated here because people believe they ward off the devil.
Gordon travels to the remote Omo Valley to meet a cattle-herding people called the Bodi. He meets Baradi, a spiritual leader, and Bibani, a mother. They are hyena experts, disliking them because their cattle are preyed upon by hyenas. Baradi takes Gordon to a hyena den. It seems the Bodi often destroy hyena dens, but mostly in retaliation for attacks on livestock.
In the Omo Valley, wildlife has largely been replaced by cattle so hyenas have little choice but to raid livestock. Bibani asks Gordon to sleep outside overnight to ward off hyenas. Gordon learns from elders that there was a time when hyenas and the Bodi lived in peace. He also learns that contrary to popular belief, hyenas hunt more than they scavenge. Gordon visits a neighbouring Bodi village that has had a cow injured by a hyena. Baradi shows Gordon the trap they set to kill marauding hyenas.
Baradi also shows Gordon another reason they rely on cattle. The Bodi are famous for their Ka'el ritual. The Bodi drink blood from the necks of their cows. This doesn't harm the cows, so it is more sustainable than slaughtering them for meat.
Gordon learns that the Bodi see hyenas as a cunning and respected enemy. He arrives in Harar, a medieval city with a reputation for having hundreds of hyenas. Gordon goes at night looking for hyenas in the graveyard.
Gordon meets hyena expert Yusef Saleh, who is rehabilitating an orphaned hyena and Yusef's son Abbas, who feeds wild hyenas to show tourists. Gordon meets the 'graveyard hyenas', and sees a young hyena cub. Gordon invites Baradi and his daughter Choma to meet Harar's hyenas. Unlike the people of Harar, these Bodi cattle-herders don't like hyenas, but they seem to soften towards them once they get close. If their cattle were protected, perhaps even the Bodi could forge a more peaceful relationship with hyenas.
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Clips
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Searching for hyenas in a graveyard at night
Duration: 03:05
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A close encounter with hyenas
Duration: 02:07
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Web exclusive: Dung DIY
Duration: 02:00
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The bull naming ritual
Duration: 02:00
Music Played
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Wallias Band
Muziqawi Silt
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Shelleydevoto
Til The Stars In His Eyes Are Dead
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Antiloop
Talkin' Love With Nature
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Mulatu Astatke
Yegelle Tezeta
Credits
Role | Contributor |
---|---|
Presenter | Gordon Buchanan |
Producer | Patrick Evans |
Series Producer | Ted Oakes |
Broadcasts
- Thu 21 Sep 2017 21:00
- Sun 24 Sep 2017 18:0091热爆 Two except Scotland & Wales
- Thu 12 Oct 2017 00:15
- Sun 2 Sep 2018 17:1091热爆 Two England & HD only
- Sat 8 Sep 2018 15:3091热爆 Two Scotland
- Mon 12 Aug 2019 23:1591热爆 Two except Scotland
- Tue 20 Oct 2020 16:1591热爆 Two except Scotland & Wales
- Sun 25 Oct 2020 17:0091热爆 Two Wales & Wales HD only
- Mon 6 Nov 2023 16:1591热爆 Two except Scotland
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