Pieter Hugo :: ‘Gadawan Kura’ – The Hyena Men
Series II, 2005-2007
‘The Dog’s Master’
Pieter Hugo
These photographs came about after a friend emailed me an image taken on a cellphone through a car window in Lagos, Nigeria, which depicted a group of men walking down the street with a hyena in chains. A few days later I saw the image reproduced in a South African newspaper with the caption ‘The Streets of Lagos’. Nigerian newspapers reported that these men were bank robbers, bodyguards, drug dealers, debt collectors. Myths surrounded them. The image captivated me.Through a journalist friend I eventually tracked down a Nigerian reporter, Adetokunbo Abiola, who said that he knew the ‘Gadawan Kura’ as they are known in Hausa (a rough translation: ‘hyena handlers/guides’).
A few weeks later I was on a plane to Lagos. Abiola met me at the airport and together we took a bus to Benin City where the ‘hyena men’ had agreed to meet us. However, when we got there they had already departed for Abuja.
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.
The spectacle caused by this group walking down busy market streets was overwhelming. I tried photographing this but failed, perhaps because I wasn’t interested in their performances. I realised that what I found fascinating was the hybridisation of the urban and the wild, and the paradoxical relationship that the handlers have with their animals – sometimes doting and affectionate, sometimes brutal and cruel. I started looking for situations where these contrasting elements became apparent. I decided to concentrate on portraits. I would go for a walk with one of the performers, often just in the city streets, and, if opportunity presented itself, take a photograph. We travelled around from city to city, often chartering public mini-buses.
I agreed to travel with the animal wranglers to Kanu in the northern part of the country. One of them set out to negotiate a fare with a taxi driver; everyone else, including myself and the hyenas, monkeys and rock pythons, hid in the bushes. When their companion signalled that he had agreed on a fare, the motley troupe of humans and animals leapt out from behind the bushes and jumped into the vehicle. The taxi driver was completely horrified. I sat upfront with a monkey and the driver. He drove like an absolute maniac. At one stage the monkey was terrified by his driving. It grabbed hold of my leg and stared into my eyes. I could see its fear.
Two years later I decided to go back to Nigeria. The project felt unresolved and I was ready to engage with the group again. I look back at the notebooks I had kept while with them. The words ‘dominance’, ‘codependence’ and ‘submission’ kept appearing. These pictures depict much more than an exotic group of travelling performers in West Africa. The motifs that linger are the fraught relationships we have with ourselves, with animals and with nature.
The second trip was very different. By this stage there was a stronger personal relationship between myself and the group. We had remained in contact and they were keen to be photographed again. The images from this journey are less formal and more intimate.
The first series of pictures had caused varying reactions from people – inquisitiveness, disbelief and repulsion. People were fascinated by them, just as I had been by that first cellphone photograph. A director of a large security company in the USA contacted me, asking how to get in touch with the ‘hyena group’. He saw marketing potential: surely these men must use some type of herb to protect themselves against hyenas, baboons, dogs and snakes? He thought that security guards, soldiers and his own pocket could benefit from this medicine.
Many animal-rights groups also contacted me, wanting to intervene (however, the keepers have permits from the Nigerian government). 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.
‘The Hyena Men’
Adetokunbo Abiola
Abdullahi Ahmadu was 15 years old when he joined his father’s business in the small town of Malumfashi in Katsina State, Nigeria. This meant that he had to acquire his own hyena, as his family made their living as entertainers accompanied by hyenas, snakes and monkeys, in addition to selling the fetishes and herbal medicines that are popular in Nigeria.Abdullahi’s grandfather, Nalado Ahmadu, taught him how to catch and control the animals, and introduced him to the charms that help subdue the creatures and protect their captors from harm.
Today Abdullahi is an experienced animal handler in his early thirties, who travels across Nigeria as part of a troupe of entertainers including his younger brother, Yahaya, and other members of his extended family. Together they work with three hyenas, two rock pythons and four baboons. According to Abdullahi, this is a tradition exclusive to his family, and only they are taught the secrets of how to trap and take care of the creatures.
The first time I met up with the hyena men, as they have become known, the group was staying in a ramshackle three-bedroom apartment in Dei Dei Junction, a suburb of the Nigerian capital, Abuja. The animals were housed in specially constructed boxes. Every member of the party had sores and scars on their faces, legs and hands – legacies of times when the animals suddenly turned hostile and pounced on their handlers with their teeth and claws.
‘We use a heavy stick to hit the hyenas on the head when they misbehave,’ Abdullahi said. ‘We knock them down on the ground. All of us hold the sticks in case the animals become aggressive.’
However, Abdullahi’s daughter, six-year-old ‘Mummy’, played with the animals with no sign of fear. She even rode a hyena as if it were a miniature, slope-shouldered pony. ‘She cannot be harmed,’ said Abdullahi. ‘It’s the same thing with the snakes and monkeys. She has taken a potion of traditional herbs and has been bathed with it. So her safety from the animals is guaranteed for the rest of her life.’
The animal handlers make use of herbs, concoctions, powders, amulets and esoteric incantations to catch and train their captives, protect themselves against harm and build up their own confidence. Amulets are also placed into ‘akayau’, metal rings tied around the men’s ankles, to enhance their dancing skills. The handlers believe that humans are capable of transforming themselves into animals such as hyenas, hence the need for powerful voodoo charms and incantations as protection.
When setting out on an expedition to capture a hyena, Abdullahi and his partners drink a protective potion and also bathe themselves with it. They travel to the caves and forests of northern Nigeria accompanied by hunting dogs which assist in sniffing out the animals. The young men use a powerful torch to light their way through the darkness, believing that the potion they drank has made them invisible to the animal. At the entrance to the animal’s lair, they chant incantations and blow clouds of white powder, a traditional African tranquiliser, at its face, rendering it senseless and easy to subdue. Sometimes, the powerful light from the hyena’s eyes might damage the bulb of the torch, but the men eventually have their way.
‘After bringing the animal out of the cave,’ said one of the handlers, ‘it will fight, since it’s not familiar with humans. A traditional medicine is administered to its body so it automatically becomes obedient to us. It begins to obey all our commands.’
The animal is subjected to one or two months of training. It must learn to live alongside other animals and humans, and to engage in different kinds of play without becoming violent. In return, the handlers feed the hyenas with scraps purchased from abattoirs (a goat every three days or so helps prevent the animals becoming aggressive). Maintaining good relations with the animals, said Abdullahi, requires both skill and tact.
‘They’re alert and the slightest sound keeps them awake,’ he said. ‘They hate hot environments so they’re kept in a cool place. When necessary, cold water is sprinkled on their bodies to comfort them. They’re very sensitive creatures.’
Galadima Ahmadu, who controls a hyena named Jamis, explained that the handlers wear ‘bante’ dress and charms. ‘If we give onlookers the charms, they can play with the animals as well and they won’t be harmed,’ he said. The concoctions sold to the public are meant to protect against snake, hyena or monkey bites, while the charms and amulets shield people from the antics of witches and wizards, which many Nigerians believe are responsible for their misfortunes.
The animals are good business. The family has sold traditional potions and charms for many years, but trade increased dramatically after the acquisition of the hyenas and other creatures. ‘We parade the animals on the streets,’ said Mallam Mantari, the owner of a 13-year-old hyena named Mainasara. ‘They can be very funny and the public showers them with money.’
As unemployment and poverty continue to bite in Nigeria, youths in particular must devise inventive ways of making money for survival. ‘I’ve been in this business since childhood,’ said Abdullahi Mohammed, a quiet young man who is responsible for a baboon called Frayo. ‘This animal has helped us. The money we make gives us food every day. This runs into a few thousand naira.’
I travelled with the group from Ogere-Remo to Bar Beach at Victoria Island in Lagos, and watched as scores of fascinated people were entranced by the spectacle of the hyenas, monkeys and snakes being paraded through the streets. Commercial buses and private cars stop, causing a traffic jam, while passengers gape at the animals as they perform their tricks. Within seconds people start to gather and a crowd forms, everyone staring in wonder.
Yahaya Ahmadu explained how they operate: ‘When we get to a place, we make the baboons do somersaults, jump on the back of motorcycles and shake people’s hands. Those watching are impressed with our animals. Before you know it, naira notes start to fly here and there. Some throw them at the baboons, others give directly. The baboons bring the money to us and we put it in the common till.’
Important members of the troupe include the drummers, Nura Garuba, Abdulkarim Lawal and Sanusi Ahmed. They follow the hyena men as they travel from city to city, beating the traditional Hausa drums that are the signal for the baboons to start dancing.
Others in the group are traditional healers. According to Yahaya, ‘They make herbs to take care of snake bites, scorpion stings and other animal problems. We also have herbs for spiritual problems, and illnesses such as typhoid fever, malaria and syphilis. When we get to a market, street junction or public place, people gather to watch us. We use the opportunity to sell these herbs to them.’
In addition to street shows, the animal handlers take part in film projects and make money from the sale of wild animals. ‘Any animal that people want, we can get for them,’ said Yahaya, who claims that they have supplied hyenas, pythons and other animals to zoos in Nigeria, Cameroon, Burkina Faso and Benin. ‘A mature hyena is sold for one hundred and fifty thousand naira, but a cub is more expensive at two hundred and fifty thousand naira. This is because a cub can be trained. An adult baboon goes for fifteen thousand naira, a young one for eight thousand. A python goes for eight to ten, depending on the size.’
The hyena men use the hunting dogs that accompany them to trap smaller animals for food. Konyami Murtala, who handles a baboon called Mora, said the dogs catch rabbits, grass cutters, antelopes and other small animals in the forests surrounding their camps. These animals are skinned and eaten or offered for sale.
People who benefit indirectly from the hyena men’s business include the bus drivers who transport the animals from town to town. According to Lekan Fabuyi, who plies the Ogere-Remo/Lagos route, the drivers charge higher than usual rates for carrying the wild animals, making the animal handlers their preferred customers.
Other beneficiaries are the provision store owners and food vendors who locate their small businesses at the outskirts of towns, where the hyena handlers usually set up their makeshift wooden huts amid abandoned houses, cluster of shacks and the inevitable cattle markets. Store-owner Biola Adekumi said: ‘When they’re around we sell more. Also, they give us fun, especially the younger ones. Their animals make us laugh and feel lively.’
Not everyone views the hyena men in such a favourable light. Although they have licenses to operate their business from a number of states in Nigeria, officials occasionally harass them and prevent them moving their animals about. One official commented: ‘These animals are wild. No matter how you handle them, an animal is always an animal. Tame an animal for ten years and one day it’ll behave like an animal. For instance, if a hyena breaks loose it can attack and kill people. I don’t think these people should be allowed to carry these animals about.’
The entertainers have also been accused by the Nigerian police of using the animals to threaten or intimidate members of the public into parting with money or possessions. In June 2004 a report in Lagos newspaper This Day claimed that an armed ‘gang who used a hyena and a monkey to rob their victims’ had a shootout with police. The paper reported that two gang members were killed and four arrested, while a policeman ended up in hospital after being bitten by a hyena. The hyena and a monkey were shot.
Abdullahi Ahmadu gives a different side of the story: ‘We refused to stop at a police checkpoint, so the police opened fire on us, killing two hyenas and two fellow policemen. To protect themselves, they fixed a charge of armed robbery on us. Thank God, the case has died a natural death.’
The bus driver, Lekan Fabuyi, defended the hyena men, saying: ‘They eat by taking these animals around. Stop them and they take to criminality. Those criticising cannot give them another job.’
Indeed, the troupe’s diverse activities generate enough money for their daily survival and to establish maize and yam farms. Abdullahi Mohammed, for example, owns a farm in Danja in Katsina State, and Yahaya said the group has plans to establish a cassava farm in Ogene-Ofada in Kogi State.
After three days of following the group, I was preparing to leave when the hyena men brought their menagerie of animals to the side of a road in Lagos. The drummers struck a beat and the baboons pranced about and jumped. Passing cars stopped and their passengers craned their necks through the windows and gaped. Motorbike riders parked at the fringe of a gathering crowd and stared in fascination. The handlers shouted at the baboons and they somersaulted and performed several acrobatic movements. Before long naira notes started being thrown at them. As one onlooker commented, ‘Though their way of making money is odd, these people are in real business.’
36 responses so far ↓
1 Berit Larsen // Sep 21, 2008 at 9:19 am
I have sent some of the pictures to WSPA and an animal welfare group in Nigeria. It is really depressing to see poor captured animals in these conditions. I really wish that something could be done. It breaks my heart to see the pictures. I wish for them that tehey will be set free and will be able to live the good lives they deserves. I don’t understand how people can just watch this without doing anything. Luckily I live in a civilized country with animal welfare politics.
2 Berit Larsen // Sep 21, 2008 at 9:21 am
Pieter Hugo, I wonder: didn’t this sight make you cry? I really wonder……..I hope your answer is “yes”
3 Ariana Letzelter // Oct 8, 2008 at 10:03 pm
Those animals are fed, watered, and protected thats more than you could say about millions of “pets” in “civilized” countries that are abused. I totally support this.
Amazing article, shame PETA thinks they run the world (I assume PETA threw a hissy fit). I cant believe those men have the courage to maintain those animals Hyenas are HUGE.
4 Lucas // Dec 7, 2008 at 8:30 am
amazing, great
5 Jillian T. // Feb 17, 2009 at 10:17 pm
Poverty is the problem here. Not animal cruelty.
I support this because they too need to survive. The men feed the animals, they’re not tortured, and by the look of the monkeys they are even well groomed and clothed.
I think it would be fascinating to watch these performers in action =)
6 Josephine M. // Feb 25, 2009 at 8:19 am
I am curious from the look of the animals in the pictures the baboons appear to be juveniles not adults. What happens to the baboons when they become adults? I male baboon will have extremely large canines and strength around four times that of any man. No potion or voodoo can protect a human when an animal is stronger than the human and natural needs are suppressed. You couldn’t return such an animal back into the wild, because its fellow baboons would reject it, it might not be able to foraging for itself, or adapt to such a diet, and therefore would most likely return to the cities to steal food from humans, which is extremely dangerous. I cannot see how it can be justified. Humans should look for other ways to make a living and stop exploiting animals for their own gain.
7 Gary A. Paull Jr. // Feb 25, 2009 at 7:16 pm
…People abuse people on a regular basis… There are still thousands of slaves in some countries of Africa… Prostitution,’trafficking in persons’, drug dealing, and ‘contractual’ servitude exist the world over. Humans are exploited everywhere for our own gain… And this troupe makes you sad, upset, and even angry?!
I applaud their efforts! How many of us, humans, go through life with absolutely no initiative or ambition?! They’re surviving on their own; which is more than what I can say for a growing percentage of the more ‘civilized’ world. Look at how many Americans are taking advantage of our horribly designed and poorly monitored welfare and unemployment systems. In my own personal and numerous ways, I envy the ‘hyena men’! They are self employed, live and travel as they see fit, and have a self-sustaining future to look forward to.
From a business perspective, they have solid marketing tactics and a strong understanding of economics. They’re even reinvesting some of their income to start farms and create residual income and food for themselves… On that note, how is your pathetic 401k or ‘investment portfolio’ doing?
Before I leave, allowing someone months from now to commit their anonymous and disillusioned misgivings as a response—
To Peter Hugo: Thank you for writing this, and your photography is amazing; well captured. The story and your writing in one word, captivating… If you read this once it is committed to the endless memory of the internet, I hope you get to see them again some day.
8 Gary A. Paull Jr. // Feb 25, 2009 at 7:19 pm
My apologies… -Pieter Hugo-
9 Dorothea Penizek // Mar 2, 2009 at 4:20 pm
Fascinating. I am intrigued by the group photo of the hyena men—what is the white dog on the right of the photo doing in the midst of all the hyenas?
10 Monica Belni // Apr 19, 2009 at 10:08 pm
I love Pieter’s photos, his new series on the “nollywood” characters is fascinating!. I’ve been looking for Hugo interviews, this is the first one i find.
Thanx for sharing!
11 Heath Connor III // May 3, 2009 at 8:10 pm
Disturbing in so many ways.
And “Gary A. Paull Jr.” it doesn’t take much of “a strong understanding of economics” to know that money = food.
Your admiration is equally disturbing.
12 Jason // May 18, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Amazing stuff! I won’t bother to wade into the political mess so many make this to be. I am just grateful that I have the chance to see what other parts of the world are like. I used to live in Gabon many years ago, and did not see things like this. But, reading the text, it appears not many Nigerians see this as well.
Well done – the rest of Pieter Hugo’s photos on his website are amazing and disturbing. So well done! A comfortable world is a boring world.
I wonder – do sock puppets cry when they have a human hand continually shoved up their arse?!
13 chiyaya // May 19, 2009 at 6:58 am
Oh such love for the wild potrayed by you folk..yet your continent has just about lost all trace of wild life..wish your forefathers were so concerned instead of hanging the hunting trophies and dressing in fur! Well as uncivilised as our continent is and as unsofisticated its people are, we still have some animal running wild..funny how you folk want to pass judgement elvery oppotunity you get…? Dhah!!!
14 Allan Obenjo // Jun 24, 2009 at 5:23 am
Mine is just to congratulate the person who highlighted this story and also maybe to point out the fact that as much as it seems as cruelty to wildlife this just nothing but a traditional circus practised in the west and as Chiyaya is saying hunting fox in the West is a sport for the rich so why double stantards at least us we try to live with them.
15 scott birksey brown // Jul 25, 2009 at 5:10 am
There are many of these groups on the Nocky and Woody and Ford estates in Birkenhead.
16 John Sackett // Sep 20, 2009 at 7:06 pm
It’s interesting to note the taboo in the treatment of animals. When humanity was living more so in tribes and small gatherings, rather than the sprawling metropolises that have taken grip of much of the world, we as a species lived rather in communion with the wild, and the slaying of animals for survival was rarely frowned upon as a sinful act: it was out of necessity when the animal was deemed better used as food than to just keep as a neighbor or tool.
We as a society have only begun to see animals differently since we no longer have the wild side to ourselves, as humans. We now rely so heavily on machines, that we see ourselves as separate from the wild, and better. I feel that this troupe is in fact more “civilized” and more “human” that most could hope to be: They are living in better harmony with the wild than many of us in the United States are.
True, their means of using the wild for survival are different now than the “traditional” methods of farming and such, but they mean the animals no harm, as far as I can tell from the article and photographs, and the survival is a mutual relationship: if one survives, so does the other.
17 xzczxczx // Sep 22, 2009 at 11:39 pm
LOOOOOL
18 ali bombabey // Oct 16, 2009 at 10:22 pm
atleast they dont have intercourse with the animals as some do in asian and western countries with their pets and farm animals. thats abuse
19 Noonan // Nov 17, 2009 at 4:46 pm
Thanks Pieter Hugo for making this information available to the world to see. I don’t agree with what these men do, however I think its really great that you have exposed at least one groups daily struggle to better themselves.
20 Fascinating and Disgusting: The ‘Hyena’ and ‘Baboon’ People of Nigeria | PoliticalArticles.NET // Nov 26, 2009 at 4:24 am
[...] 3. Pieter Hugo :: The Hyena Men of Abuja, Nigeria 2005 II — http://davidmurodesign.com/blog/?p=155 4. Real Gangsters Have Hyenas: [...]
21 jennifer rivera // Nov 26, 2009 at 3:40 pm
i saw thepictures of your hyenas and think that they are very beautiful creatures i have alwys wanted to see one up close. They are my favorite animal do they really get that big wow i think they are mgnificent animals
22 sandy lozano // Dec 13, 2009 at 9:22 pm
you are a very crazy man you keep doing these dangerous things and you will end up dead chewed up by some wild animal
23 Marianne // Dec 18, 2009 at 12:01 pm
POOR ANIMALS !!!!!!!
24 kritina // Jan 9, 2010 at 11:31 am
You have just become one of my favorite photographers! i wish i had discovered your work sooner. This piece is an absolutely amazing and powerful collection of images, and story unto itself.
Yes, i too am an animal lover and, of course, any abuse upsets me greatly, but this story provokes so much in addition to that … as has already been pointed out, the human element, both economic and sociological.
i can’t even begin to express how compelling i find the imagery and the subject.
Thank you!
kritina.
25 karen farris // Jan 14, 2010 at 3:49 am
Amazing story!! I loved the story, pictures and their commitment to maintain a family tradition.
I am impressed and in awe.
I can hardly keep a dog from shitting in the house; makes me think: what a man! If he can train a wild beast he may be able to handle a real woman like me!
26 matt bean // Jan 24, 2010 at 1:55 am
i had a dog for 14 years, looked like a wolfe. he was a family member. if i had made money from him he would not have minded. substitute dog for hyena or baboon and what has changed? peoples perceptions and preconceptions. there are children in nigeria exiled and abused for being ‘witches’. prioritise, viviscection and animals being used for scientific research is torture, this is mutually beneficial
27 Carrie Hundley // Feb 1, 2010 at 12:31 pm
I thought it was abuse, yet they keep them in cool cages, sprinkle water on them, that is something to feel good about. It could have stated that they are kept in horrible conditions and abused drastically.
Cheer up Haters…
But – you are allowed to frown upon the fact that the only way to make money these days is to use animals,- beautiful creatures that are becoming extinct.
People don’t feel like eating cage free healthy chickens, they feel like chopping a beautiful tiger in half for its fur, keep doing that people and there will be no more beautiful fur.
Humans are the only living things that should be even close to extinction. – well that and sloths – yuki
joke…all you Peta followers, chill out please.
We have so UN-thoughtfully produced vehicles that are killing animals left and right. You should concern yourselfs of that or the issue of bear dancing, the issue of bears having their jaws nailed shut and taunghted by people holding food.
But people there are worse things out there so stop abusing these guys and maybe take a drive to a poor/unknown area…you might be surprised in what you might see/help with- for example dog fighting- HUGE ISSUE, puppy mills, HUGE ISSUE….focus on HUGE ISSUES rather than amazing stories like this.
I WOULD LOVE TO SPEND TIME WITH THESE MEN. See it for my own eyes, learn what they know.- And if at the end i decide it is cruel, then it is cruel. but not as cruel as the mass killing and animals produced for our selfish benefits.
28 candycab // Feb 2, 2010 at 1:53 am
Fascinating article
The pictures speak for themselves
Kudos to Pieter Hugo !
Too all the Peta slaves/crusaders out there, do the rest of the world a favor and form your own opinion instead of one of an occult like following, of course if you could do that then you probably would see Peta for what a sham it is.
You people would have never survived any time on this earth other than the present and probably wouldn’t today in a lot of regions where you would be the main course at dinner or offend the wrong people.
29 heather alizarin // Feb 4, 2010 at 8:03 pm
There is no given evidence of how these animals are treated good or bad. These are just visual records of the existence of this scenario. To make any judgement call outside of the range of aesthetics is an emotional response based on previous experiences and knowledge of animal cruelty. Yes animal cruelty is a problem, cruelty in general is a problem, are these animals being mistreated? Some people think that even owning a pet and treating it well is animal cruelty because no one should “own” an animal at all. Other people look at animals like disposable objects. The reality is that wasting your energy on bashing this artist for taking pictures and bashing these men for using animals as a business is counter-productive. If you care about animals and want the best for them then what you ought to do is go be proactive about it. Research info about how you can help a given cause and go do it.
30 Dan, MN // Feb 12, 2010 at 12:04 pm
This is really cool. If the animals were in the wild they would just be scavenging and dying for food everyday any was. More power to these guys.
31 Hyenor. « Bildgooglin' // Mar 8, 2010 at 11:11 am
[...] Här kan man läsa mer: http://davidmurodesign.com/blog/?p=155 [...]
32 nthabisengmosikidi // Mar 23, 2010 at 1:44 am
i think its truelly a disgreace to see that this thing are happening here in africa just arounsd us and one thing that make’s me even more aangry it’s that i am dating a nigerian guy whom believe’s that his counry is one of the best counteries around africa but forgetting all the thing that are taking place in his own counry how do you as humanbeing make use of animals in that way is very sick respond. nthabiseng soon to be mrs jiweze
33 Glen // May 17, 2010 at 3:39 pm
That is one seriously *fascinating* article. I worked for a short spell in Abuja for teh All Africa Games – didn’t cath sight of any street hyenas… but plenty of other absolutely crazy stuff that testifies to the richness of human life on earth.
Stunning photographs for their content. Well blogged!
Glen
34 Vincent // Aug 24, 2010 at 12:09 pm
Everyone has a different definition of Animal abuse and animal cruelty. What’s sad is when a person gets upset or mocks someone that has a different opinion than theirs. I agree with things that alot of people may not agree with. Some of those people agree or disagree based on stereotypes; not their own research. If you house an animal and do not allow that animal to do what it freely enjoys doing, thats abuse. Case in point: I see so many dogs and cats that are overweight, chained in the back yard, claws cut, etc… These animals were not bred or born to be those things. Dogs were bred to do a specific type of job. I see German Shepards and Rotweilers that were bred to work become lazy house dogs. THATS ABUSE! Cats declawed and kept in the house… THATS ABUSE! Dogs and cats 30-50 pounds overweight. THATS ABUSE! Research your breed and see what job it was born to do. Get that dog or cat involved in that activity, whatever it may be. If not that specific activity, something similiar… Thats my take on this subject…
35 James // Aug 30, 2010 at 4:26 pm
Funny how people in the US and Europe see these images and immediatly think of the animals well being. LOOK AT THE SURROUNDINGS!!! For those of you who saw the animals being mistreated before the Humans who have resorted to capturing and keeping these animals as a means to survival, close your eyes for a second and ponder this. You have no home, you come from or are living in a place which redefines your idea of violence. Rape, Hunger, Torture, and Abuse are viewed live in 3D not on your 60+” plasma/LCD or New LED TV. Now have a family that needs food, feel your stomach and pretend its not flabby and full but cramping and twisting in hunger. Now open your eyes, look at the photos again and ask yourself DO I REALLY GIVE A FLYING F*&K about that monkey or Hyena before the people in these photos?? If so then your lost and so is the wonder of these photo’s. I’m captivated by the story of these men and wish them nothing but good will and saftey. As for the animals … Their health and saftey is second in my mind.
36 Calvin // Sep 4, 2010 at 7:01 pm
It seems this article has devolved into a series of opinionated pricks pretending to be intellectuals, lecturing a third world country rife with poverty on what it should and shouldn’t do to it’s animals.
Youtube anyone?
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