The sighting of a striped hyena in the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary on the Delhi-Haryana border recently made headlines. Why?
The striped hyena is a near-threatened species with less than 10,000 of them in the wild globally. It is one of the least known large camivore species”, and since it is a nocturnal creature, its sighting is rare. It is found in several African and Asian countries, including Nepal and India. The last time a striped hyena was sighted in Delhi was under tragic circumstances-it was killed in a road accident in 2015. On several occasions, pugmarks were found in the Aravalli j forests spanning the neighbouring regions of Gurugram and Faridabad too. It is said that during 2017-2018, pugmarks of a striped hyena were found in the Asola sanctuary. And finally comes this sighting at the sanctuary through camera trap. Interestingly, a striped hyena was spotted for the first time since 2017 in Uttarakhand’s Corbett Tiger Reserve this August. So why are such sightings important?
“It’s a scavenger and plays an important role in maintaining the stability of a forest ecosystem. The presence of a striped hyena in Asola indicates an improvement in the Asola forest.” As a scavenger (an animal that consumes dead organisms), it helps clean up the surroundings, decreasing the chances of potential spread of infection. Since scavengers usually feed on kills left behind by larger predators, the presence of a striped hyena is also indicative of the presence of predators such as leopards and tigers. The sighting is also significant because it gives hope at a time when the number of striped hyenas is decreasing due to several reasons such as habitat loss, death due to accidents, etc.
Picture Credit : Google
