(MENAFN- Jordan Times) Inspectors in the northern governorate of Ajloun have seized and confiscated a striped hyena, whose owner was planning to use the animal for witchcraft, a conservationist said on Wednesday.
A joint inspection team from the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN) and the Rangers was tipped off that a man was raising a hyena in his house, a conservationist at the RSCN told The Jordan Times over the phone.
"The man is known in the area for dealing in black magic and sorcery" he also claims to be able to heal chronic diseases using magic. He deceived people about being able to cure cancer using hyena blood," added the conservationist, who preferred to remain unnamed because he is not authorised to speak to the press.
Some people believe that hyenas have healing powers and that their blood and body parts can be used in charms, therefore, they hunt for the animal's cubs in the Jordan Valley, the source said.
"The problem now with the confiscated hyena is that it is almost tame and accustomed to being around humans, since its owner raised it from a cub. This will jeopardise its life when released into the wild as it may approach humans and cause panic," the conservationist stressed.
The animal, which was moved to a shelter, will undergo special rehabilitation to prevent this, he added.
The inspectors took legal action against the man, who will stand trial, he noted.
It is against the law to hunt wild animals, except those specified in hunting regulations.
People in Jordan either kill hyenas out of fear for their lives, or hunt them for taxidermy purposes or for their flesh and blood, which they believe have medicinal uses. Others catch them and sell them to zoos for JD25-JD50, according to RSCN personnel.
Despite a lack of statistics about the hyena population in Jordan, field work indicates that their numbers are dwindling due to destruction of their natural habitat and hunting, according to the RSCN.
The striped hyena is native to the Middle East, North Africa, the Caucasus, Central Asia and India. The carnivorous mammal is frequently mentioned in Middle Eastern literature and folklore as a dangerous predator or a symbol of treachery, although attacks on human beings are rare, according to web sources.
A nocturnal animal, the striped hyena typically only makes itself visible in complete darkness, and is quick to return to its lair before sunrise.
The species is listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as near threatened, as the global hyena population is estimated to be under 10,000 mature individuals.
Hyenas continue to experience deliberate and incidental persecution along with a decrease in their prey base, such that the species may come close to meeting a continuing decline of 10 per cent over the next three generations.
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