In Syria, the striped hyena is being killed as much for what people believe about it as for anything it actually does.
For decades, the animal has been surrounded by stories portraying it as a killer of humans, an abductor of children and a creature associated with sorcery, graveyards and dark superstition. These beliefs have helped turn one of the Middle East’s rarest predators into a target. Hunting, poisoning and the illegal trade in its body parts are now compounding the effects of habitat loss and weak wildlife protection.
Over several months, an investigative team documented 13 cases in which striped hyenas were killed across different parts of Syria, including Deir ez-Zor, rural Damascus, Idlib and northern Aleppo. Many of the killings were openly displayed on social media, where hunters posed beside carcasses and presented the animals’ deaths as acts of courage or public protection.
In late June 2026, a hunter from the Deir ez-Zor desert posted photographs of a striped hyena he had killed, saying livestock owners had complained of repeated attacks on their sheep and that the animal had been found close to homes. Similar incidents had occurred only weeks earlier.
The pattern reflects a broader problem. Hunters often describe the striped hyena as an immediate danger to people or livestock, even though environmental specialists say many of the claims surrounding the species have little or no scientific basis.
One amateur hunter from rural Deir ez-Zor told the investigation that hyenas were killed principally to prevent them from approaching women and children. He acknowledged that the animals generally remain in desert areas rather than entering homes, but still insisted that an unarmed person encountering one in the wilderness would inevitably be attacked.
Such fears are widespread. For many hunters, killing a hyena is understood as a preventive measure, undertaken before the animal has caused any harm.
Fear, Superstition and an Illegal Trade
Fear is only part of the explanation.
There is also a commercial market for striped hyena skins and body parts. One hunter near the Turkish border said he had hunted the animals for five years largely to sell their pelts, while admitting that their numbers in the area had fallen noticeably.
More deeply rooted are beliefs surrounding magic and folk medicine. Syrian environmental specialists say the animal’s skin, bones and teeth are sought for supposed use in sorcery, traditional remedies and rituals believed to bring luck or wealth.
These ideas have circulated for generations. In different parts of Syria, stories portray hyenas as child-snatchers, grave robbers or creatures possessing supernatural powers. Repetition has turned folklore into conviction, and conviction into justification for killing.
Bilal al-Hayek, an official responsible for biodiversity and environmental affairs, has identified illegal trade in hyena parts as one of the principal threats to the species. He says the animals are killed for skins, bones and teeth because of beliefs surrounding traditional medicine and sorcery, despite the absence of scientific evidence supporting such claims.
People who have spent years raising and observing predators present a very different picture.
Hassan Shweikani, who keeps several predatory animals on a farm near Damascus, describes the striped hyena as an animal unfairly maligned by society. He rejects stories that hyenas routinely attack humans or enter homes in search of victims.
According to Shweikani, the animal generally avoids people and retreats whenever possible. A hyena is most likely to become dangerous when trapped, cornered or left with no means of escape.
Its occasional appearance near human settlements is usually connected to food. During periods of scarcity, hyenas may approach rubbish dumps or places where livestock carcasses have been discarded. Even then, specialists say, flight is generally more characteristic than confrontation.
Social media has added another dimension to the problem. Videos of hunters displaying dead hyenas have become a recurring feature on Facebook, TikTok and messaging applications. Some show the pursuit or shooting itself; others feature hunters standing proudly over the carcass.
Environmental activists warn that such material can normalise the killing of wildlife. A video that attracts thousands of views, comments and expressions of approval can encourage others to repeat the act, whether in pursuit of attention, status or social acceptance.
The videos also reinforce the old stereotype: the hyena appears as a dangerous predator that has been successfully eliminated, with little mention of its ecological role or declining numbers.
Nature’s Scavenger Under Threat
The ecological reality is almost the reverse of the animal’s popular image.
Striped hyenas are among nature’s most efficient scavengers. They consume carcasses and animal remains, including bones that many other species cannot digest. Their powerful jaws allow them to dispose of material that might otherwise remain in the environment and contribute to the spread of bacteria, parasites and disease.
Environmental experts therefore describe the animal as an important part of the ecological balance in Syria’s deserts, valleys and mountains.
One specialist likened the striped hyena to a natural cleaning machine. In remote places without municipal services, it removes the remains of dead sheep, goats, cattle and other animals, performing a function that would otherwise go largely unfilled.
This role is particularly important in rural and desert areas, where carcasses may be left in the open. Removing the hyena from such ecosystems could have consequences well beyond the disappearance of a single species.
Despite its ecological value, reliable information about the animal’s numbers in Syria is scarce. Years of war and the weakening of environmental monitoring have made accurate population estimates difficult. Globally, the striped hyena is listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as Near Threatened, but Syrian experts fear that its situation inside the country may be considerably more precarious.
Small and isolated populations are especially vulnerable. If only a handful of animals are killed in an already fragmented local population, the result can be collapse.
Syria adopted a wildlife hunting law in 2023 that regulates licences and identifies species that may or may not be hunted. Yet environmental specialists argue that the legislation remains more focused on managing hunting than on protecting endangered wildlife. Penalties are also relatively modest, particularly when compared with the money that can be earned from illegal trade in skins or body parts.
Enforcement presents an additional problem. Large stretches of countryside and desert remain difficult to monitor, while illegal hunting is particularly common in border and remote areas.
Officials say striped hyena hunting is prohibited and that Syria has also adopted measures connected to CITES, the international convention regulating trade in endangered species. Authorities have additionally encouraged protected areas, monitoring of online wildlife sales and licensed captive-breeding programmes.
On the ground, however, killings continue.
The danger facing the striped hyena therefore comes from several directions at once: hunting, poisoning, commerce, fragmented habitats, weak enforcement and a culture of fear that often treats the animal’s mere presence as sufficient reason to kill it.
The greatest threat may ultimately be the persistence of that image. An animal that plays a vital role in cleaning Syria’s wild landscapes is still widely regarded as a menace to be eliminated.
For conservationists, every new killing now carries greater weight than it might appear to. In small, scattered populations, the death of only a few animals can push a local group towards collapse. If that pattern continues, the striped hyena may disappear from parts of Syria long before most people realise what has been lost.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
