Apr 30, 2012
Traveling with Nigerian hyena handlers [8 pictures]
In 2005, photojournalist Pieter Hugo saw a cellphone pic of a group of men in Lagos, Nigeria walking down the street with chained hyenas. The picture intrigued him enough to track them down and eventually go visit them…
In Abuja we found them living on the periphery of the city in a shantytown – a group of men, a little girl, three hyenas, four monkeys and a few rock pythons. It turned out that they were a group of itinerant minstrels, performers who used the animals to entertain crowds and sell traditional medicines. The animal handlers were all related to each other and were practising a tradition passed down from generation to generation. I spent eight days travelling with them.
Hugo says reactions to his work have ranged from the same curiosity he originally felt to outright revulsion — must often revulsion at the treatment of the animals. But…
When I asked Nigerians, “How do you feel about the way they treat animals”, the question confused people. Their responses always involved issues of economic survival. Seldom did anyone express strong concern for the well-being of the creatures.
Europeans invariably only ask about the welfare of the animals but this question misses the point. Instead, perhaps, we could ask why these performers need to catch wild animals to make a living. Or why they are economically marginalised. Or why Nigeria, the world’s sixth largest exporter of oil, is in such a state of disarray.
Read the whole story from Pieter Hugo.
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I feel sorry for the animals.
Did you even read the story?
Feel sorry for the state of affairs in Nigeria one of the major oil exporter.
From any point of view, it’s awful.
Wow. I had no idea hyenas were that large.
seriously. they’re huge. Lion King totally misrepresented them.
wow! i was thinking the same thing, they are huge and quite muscular. anytime i see them on National Geographic or something i guess the size difference between a lion or elephant or water buffalo, make them look tiny. crazy.
yeah, I was thinking the same thing. They are huge. Maybe because they are owned as pets they are better fed than in the wild.
For a moment I thought our Wilma had been photoshopped into all these pictures . . . (have you ever seen our dog? everyone thinks she is part hyena)
Look how barren it is! Looks so sad and harsh :( Did anyone else notice, in the first picture, some of the baboons are wearing shirts? They look so stern but also so cute with those shirts on!
Money or no money/ this is wrong!!!!!!!!!!!! Any wild animal that is chained and made to “perform” for human gain is sick and selfish. No I do not like zoo’s either…and the Vegas boys that FINALLY got tackled by one of their Lions,they lived off of like a tick on the back of a dog for years……..didn’t think that was right either. The oil and inequity is awful, it is every where in the world/some waaay worse than others/this isn’t the answer.That is the same justification in America for poverty strickened children selling drugs.Find/search for a better solution to a world problem. Few with too much and large portions of the world populations with too little/starving. I get your point using these pictures/but condoning abuse is wrong/no matter how you slice up the pie.
The are just animals you know; I don’t think they should be abused either, but right now maybe there ISNT another solution; would you rather people starve? children?
I would. Less to feed.
Trudy, if one of those people were to approach you and say, “I have no job, my children are hungry, and I can catch and train Hyenas to earn money … all I need is your permission,” what would you say? Would you deny him the resources to earn money?
Talking about the larger societal issues is valid, but denying people the right to earn what they can in a non-lawbreaking way (at least until everything is perfect like we all want it to be) is not a solution.
Nobody was condoning abuse. I’m not sure how you got that out of what was posted. You seem to assume this family has a range of choices they can make about how to have a better life. Like they just need to haul their socks up and go to school and get real jobs.
From your comment I’m 80% sure you’re a middle class person living in a developed Anglo country, and if you don’t think you’re middle class it’s because you haven’t compared your situation with what the rest of the world has to deal with. If you can’t understand that you’ve benefitted all your life from way more agency than this family or poor kids who sell drugs, you should stop commenting about them.
People like you benefit from the inequality in the world, whether or not you appreciate it, so instead of getting so judgy maybe YOU should be looking for solutions.
Good word! I think the most telling thing about the above quote is that when asked about animal cruelty, Nigerians responded NOT defensively but with confusion.
Of course you should put the lives of starving humans over your animal treatment sensitivities.
Wrong Paperchaser – compared to the rest of the world, very few of us are middle class, most of us are filthy stinking rich. We are the aristocracy of the world.
I agree with you, Paperchaser. Besides, the animals they train are protected, they get food and water. Yes, they are wild animals and they are dangerous to a certain degree, so are wolves and wild dogs, but think about it – in nature, these animals live under very tough circumstances and some might even starve to death depending on whether the creature is fit for survival.
Here these animals are secure and they help a family to make a living.
It’s quite a shame that such a country with a lot oil is incapable of giving its people the opportunities to make a good living, and because of this, I agree that what they do is better than resorting to crimes as this would lead to more chaos in the country.Therefore, people should stop judging them before they come up with a better alternative!
I have to agree. I like animals fine, but I am constantly confused by people who devote their lives to animal causes when there are abused and/or starving CHILDREN all around?
Maybe I am being judgmental – everyone needs a cause – but people are infinitely more important than animals, and we all have a limited amount of time and resources, so when people use their’s to promote animal causes at the expense of human causes, I can’t help but scratch my head.
Well, I can’t speak for everyone but I support animal causes (I’m not just referring to cruelty/abuse but also conservation) because I know that animals play a huge role in our survival and if we don’t take care of them then we lose out. Even the plants we eat rely on animals for pollination, seed dispersal, etc and disrupting that system by removing the animals could have negative ramifications for humans. It doesn’t mean that I don’t support human causes; I’m actually concerned about this partly because of the potential for disease transmission and injury (them showing the hyena’s teeth is freaking me out). That being said, these guys are doing what they need to do to survive which I applaud, although I wish it didn’t have to come to this.
Also, I’m not trying to be mean so please don’t take this the wrong way because I do understand the point that you’re making but “people are infinitely more important that animals?” I must disagree, when humans rely on animals to survive then the animals have to be much more important than you give them credit for. At least in my own work, it isn’t a case of people vs animals but about finding ways in which both can benefit.
… PETA agruments aside… I think they’re cute and I wanna pet one :|
also, those are ENORMOUS beasts. I had no idea. They look powerful, like a small horse, haha.
its my first time to see animals like this, I’m a animal lover and I certainly know how to deal with my pets and If I will be ask, I rather want to see my pets happy in a place where they should belong.
Dina
My blog : visseuse dévisseuse
BTW, nobody has commented on the fact that this large group of men travel with a little girl. Where’s her mom? I mean, isn’t anyone worried about the kid?? I’m kinda freaking out about it.
I agree with you maizdulce. I would like to know that she is ok. I love animals and all but the first thing that caught my eye was the little girl seems very strange to me.
People who judge this are missing the point.
let’s just forget that the hyenas are conveniently fed and loved.
the only difference between them and your adorable house pet that rolls over and barks on command, is that one isn’t domesticated.
i guess people often forget that animal cruelty involves violence and harsh treatment of the animal.
never mind the fact that they’re being well taken care of and no longer have to struggle to survive.
Why is domestication cruelty. In the old days, when hyenas were raised from young age, they were treated as dogs. Its cruelty if the family that take care of them, mis-treats them, and that would definitely be mentioned by the journalist that stayed with them. Also, the little girl, if she was there for the wrong reasons, the journalist would have said something. I’m not against animal rights, but it seem that these animal are far in better conditions, than the millions of animals who live horrible lives and are sacrificed on a daily basis just because we (me included) think they are yummy. I’m always surprised when people judged others, when their own back yard is not the cleanest, and they do nothing about it.
All I can say is, has anyone ever been to a rodeo? Horse race? A Petsmart or Petco? All of these places use animals for profit, and ultimately cause the death of thousands each year. I think we need to look in the mirror and realize that a majority of us hand money directly to individuals who profit from suffering. Doubt the validity of my claim? Just talk to someone who has worked for a pet store breeding program or a race track.
The tail tucked between his legs when forced to jump on his master tells you the whole story. These wild and sentient beings have been beaten into submission and are frightened.