Nigerian men with Hyenas and baboons picture?
Not news as such but someone e-mailed me this picture today of a group of men who keep hyenas and baboons as pets (click thumbnail for larger image).
I didn’t have a clue what the story behind the picture was so I thought I’d do a little investigation (a.k.a Googling) to find out a little more info,
A South African photographer Pieter Hugo spent 10 days in Nigeria with 10 men, four baboons, three hyenas, and two rock pythons. He was responsible for taking this photograph of the Baboons and Hyenas during this visit.
Apparently the men catch the hyenas in their burrows when they’re puppies, then drug them over a period of time in order to sedate them. It takes away a bit of the hyena’s edge apparently, which is unfortunate but understandable.
They use muzzles more for effect than for actual protection, and as long as the animals have eaten, they’re apparently stay quite calm.
The men are very much like travelling minstrels. They go into the ghettos outside cities and march down the street with their hyenas until crowds start gathering. They have baboons that do tricks and beg until people put money in their hands.
The men take the muzzles off and wrestle with the hyenas, and afterward they’ll scare the crowd with rock pythons.
People pay money for all of this, and they also pay the hyena guys for fetish charms they believe will guard them against wild animals.
People assume the fact that these men can walk down the street with such beasts must mean that the charms offer some kind of protection. The long association between witchcraft and hyenas will also probably help here.
Unlike the selfish people who trap and keep these wild animals, Pieter Hugo is a very talented bloke. If your interested in viewing some more of his work, check out his web site here.
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hey i was lookin up the nigerian men and i always seem to come across you are you theonly person who was allowed to travel with them or are there more articles about them? your pictures are amazing! i love africa, its my favorite place in the world. i loved reading about these men and their way of life, i found it very intriging.
I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE NIGERIA MOVIE MEN
Poor animals….what a sad life, being caught and forced to live an unnatural life in a big dirty city!!
I hope, Africa will soon be developed, and people will care for the animals. This would not happen in Europe. You should learn from us. Pay taxes, and no people will be poor.
It really is sad-much cruelty is needed to keep these beutiful animals “in line”-but it seems every living thing must suffer in Africa-and europe and the united states are responsible for quite a lot of it,outside of natural geographic misfortune
It makes me sick to see people who get attention for trapping animals and parading them around like they’ve done something important. Ignorant fools. I hope they get mauled.
A shame to see really, i wonder how often these animals turn on their “owners” ? Rather them than me having one on a lead.
Imagine seeing one bounding down the street after you if the owner set it on you…. Or a burglar coming across one in a dark hallway lol….
I think it’s quite interesting- and according to the artical by the man who actually traveled with them, and didn’t jsut write about someone traveling with them, they treat the animal WELL. He says that they treat their animals with both love and affection, and dominant aggression- that is how all animals should be treated! Not cruelty- Love, affection, but NOT LIKE HUMANS. Because they aren’t. Simple fact. These men have permits and licences, and expirience. Whate they’re going is perfectly legal, and is a way of life for them. It’s a family tradition, and they share a bond with teh animals- they aren’t abusing them. If it was a white man up on a stage with these animals, would you be saying these things? Taht easy to answer- no. So stop prejudicing. You have no way of knowing whether or not these men have done anything wrong.
That’s just so weird. But then again, why keep a pitbull when you can have a hyena or a baboon.
I think its crazy that this goes on when I first saw this I thought it was photoshoped but then found its not.Animals have just as much right to live as we do on this planet as we do and it seems sad and cruel that this happens I hope they wake one day from the drug sedation and run far away where no humans can hurt or find them ever again…..