Getting to Harar in Eastern Ethiopia
To do the hyena feeding you'll need to be in Harar, and as the feeding occurs at dusk (7pm ish - changes depending on the seasons), you'll need to spend at least a night in the town of Harar. You have to be keen if you want to get there - it's a long, scary and gruelling bus journey in a crampt and overcrowded mini-bus trust me!
To get to Harar the mini bus can be a bit of a nightmare! Use local buses and you'll be able to do it no problem.
Admire the views of Harar at night before the hyenas come.
It's a short walk to the hyena feeding in Harar.
How much does Hyena Feeding in Harar cost?
The price is about 100 Birr per person. 5 or 6 US dollars
What happens at hyena feeding?
At dusk hyenas come out and backpackers want to head and feed them!!
An overview of what happens at the Hyena Feeding in Harar?
Myself and two buddies I met in Harar (Dutch guys Feder and Peter) walked down out of the city past the walls along this descending lane. At the end there is an ominous tree. It is here, in recent darkness that you will do the hyena feeding.
We arrived around 7pm and got ready to feed the hyenas
The hyenas are used to it as part of a daily routine now! It's quite cool in fact! It bites it, devours it and walks back a few metres.
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. 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!
Of the three, the mouth to mouth bit is probably the scariest. For a split second I stared into the hyenas eyes, which was a scary moment. While the hyena jumping on your back is just crazy!
Is the hyena feeding in Harar dangerous?
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.
Overall this is an amazing experience and I totally recommend hyena feeding in Harar.
To do the hyena feeding you'll need to be in Harar, and as the feeding occurs at dusk (7pm ish - changes depending on the seasons), you'll need to spend at least a night in the town of Harar. You have to be keen if you want to get there - it's a long, scary and gruelling bus journey in a crampt and overcrowded mini-bus trust me!
To get to Harar the mini bus can be a bit of a nightmare! Use local buses and you'll be able to do it no problem.
Admire the views of Harar at night before the hyenas come.
It's a short walk to the hyena feeding in Harar.
How much does Hyena Feeding in Harar cost?
The price is about 100 Birr per person. 5 or 6 US dollars
What happens at hyena feeding?
At dusk hyenas come out and backpackers want to head and feed them!!
An overview of what happens at the Hyena Feeding in Harar?
Myself and two buddies I met in Harar (Dutch guys Feder and Peter) walked down out of the city past the walls along this descending lane. At the end there is an ominous tree. It is here, in recent darkness that you will do the hyena feeding.
We arrived around 7pm and got ready to feed the hyenas
The hyenas are used to it as part of a daily routine now! It's quite cool in fact! It bites it, devours it and walks back a few metres.
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. 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!
Of the three, the mouth to mouth bit is probably the scariest. For a split second I stared into the hyenas eyes, which was a scary moment. While the hyena jumping on your back is just crazy!
Is the hyena feeding in Harar dangerous?
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.
Overall this is an amazing experience and I totally recommend hyena feeding in Harar.
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