Known for housing Asian elephants, Rajaji Tiger Reserve is now fast becoming a hub of hyenas too. After leopards and tigers, it has now emerged as a shelter place of wild striped-hyenas which have a major role in maintaining the eco-system. These nocturnal carnivores are mainly spotted at dusk and night hours mainly in herds.
like other hyenas, the striped hyena is dog-like in appearance, with powerful forequarters and a back that slopes down towards the tail. It gets its name from the black stripes on the sides of the pale grey or beige coat, which is long and shaggy except for on the face and limbs.
There is a marked rise in the number of the hyenas as compared to the last year. In the recently held survey of the Chilla, Gohari and Beriwada forest ranges of Rajaji National Park and Tiger Reserve, dozens of hyenas have been spotted.
In the Chilla range alone, nearly two dozen hyenas have been trapped on the camera. Apart from this, the adjoining area of Shyampur, Chidiapur and lansdowne forest ranges have also caught the wild animal in the camera traps.
Speaking to The Pioneer, wild life expert Bivash Pandav said, “These striped hyenas feed on the refuse of big wild animals like tigers and leopards and thus help in removing the waste flesh and bones, thus keeping the forest area clean. It is a useful animal for the forest.”
The director of the park Neena Grewal said, “Just recently a survey was done of the hyenas in the RTR. In Chilla range more than two dozen hyenas have been trapped in cameras installed. The presence of these scavengers indicate that that wild life is very much safe here. The final report of the survey is yet to come. After it comes we will be able to give the exact numbers.”