Striped Hyaena (English); Hundar (Nepali)

Sloping back, thin legs. Long, beige coloured coat with black stripes on body and legs. Long dorsal hair. Black patch on throat.

The Striped Hyaena occurs in grasslands, dense forest and undulating grounds. It also scavenges on carcasses of wild and domestic animals, such as Chital and Hog Deer. It has also been noted to feed on comparatively more vegetables than other hyaena species.

Striped Hyaena?s age at first reproduction is approximately 28 months. After a gestation period of 90 to 92 days, a litter of one to five young is born. The Striped Hyeana lives up to 24 years (recorded in captive animals).

Global: Near Threatened

National: Endangered C2a(i); D

Rationale for assessment: The Striped Hyaena (Hyeana hyeana) has been assessed as Endangered under criterion C and D in view of a small population estimated to consist of fewer than 100 individuals, with fewer than 50 mature individuals in any one sub-population. It has a restricted distribution, which is limited to protected areas of the Terai. The species has been recorded outside protected areas, however these records are likely to refer to small numbers / stray individuals. Because the threats to this species include retaliatory killings and

persecution, depleting prey populations and loss of habitat, it is unlikely that the species will be able to persist in large numbers outside protected areas. These threats are also highly likely to prevent intermixing between sub-populations, and a rescue

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effect from populations in India is unlikely, as it occurs in patchy distributions and faces deliberate persecution in most of these areas. The threats to this species are yet to be effectively addressed and therefore it is anticipated that this species will experience further population declines in the future.

Listed in the National Parks and Wildlife

Conservation Act 2029 (1973) as protected priority species.

Total: 10-100 (estimated)

Trend: Decreasing (estimated, observed)

Sightings of this species are not common and the population is considered to be in decline. The

current population in Nepal is estimated to be less than 100 individuals. Hofer and Mills (1998) considered a maximum population of 50 individuals, possibly with as few as 10, they also estimated the global population of striped hyaena to be 5,000 to 14,000 individuals.

The Striped Hyaena is distributed in the Terai region of Nepal within the protected areas of Bardia National Park, Chitwan National Park, Parsa Wildlife Reserve and Shukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve. Outside of protected areas they have been recorded in the districts of Bara, Kailali, Kapilbastu (Niglihawa VDC), west of the Bagmati to Kanchanpur and one dead Striped Hyaena was found in Udayapur District in August 2003.

Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Burkina Faso,

Cameroon, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Georgia, India, Islamic Republic Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Mali,

Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Tajikistan, Tanzania, United

Republic of Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan,

Uzbekistan, Western Sahara and Yemen.

Main Threats

• Persecution (especially poisoning).

• Decreasing natural and domestic sources of carrion due to declines in the herbivore

populations.

• Habitat loss due to human settlements,

conversion of land for agriculture, clearing of forests for firewood and livestock grazing.

The establishment of community forest

programmes has improved habitat for the species

in some of its non-protected range.

i) Conduct surveys on its distribution, population status and conservation threats throughout the country.

ii) Develop local community conservation awareness programmes highlighting the species ecological role as a natural scavenger, in order to prevent further killing (especially through poisoned prey carcasses).

iii) Implement effective grassland management systems in protected areas, including invasive alien plant species control and law enforcement.

iv) Develop and implement a conservation action plan for this species, its prey base and habitat.

References

Rieger 1983 (and references therein), Suwal and Verheught 1995, Hofer and Mills 1998, Ernst 2003,

Hem Sagar