War-induced behavioral change in spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) populations in Tigray, northern Ethiopia

Unlike many countries in Africa, there is a long tradition of spotted hyenas and people living side by side in peace in Tigray, Ethiopia. While historically the co-existence has been remarkably peaceful, the recent war in Tigray threatens this co-existence. We investigated the effects of war on the scavenging and hunting behavior of spotted hyenas, and the consequences for local people in Tigray. We compared current spotted hyena foraging in sites where heavy fighting took place (n=6 battle sites) to sites where no fighting took place (n=6 control sites) across Tigray using diet analysis. We furthermore measured the abundance of spotted hyenas using playback experiments and conducted semi structured interviews in 1200 households at battle and control sites to assess human-wildlife interactions. Regarding foraging, we found that the spotted hyena scats contained primarily domestic livestock at both the battle and control sites. Human hair was prevalent in hyena scats from battle sites but was absent in scats collected from the control sites. In general, the number of spotted hyenas responding to call-ins was significantly higher at battle than at the control sites. There were several lines of evidence that human-wildlife interactions were more negative. There were more reports of livestock predation in battle than in control sites. Livestock predation was higher overall during the war. Spotted hyena is the largest being responsible for the increase in battle and war, likely scavenging on human remains. We conclude that changes in hyena feeding behavior during the war and siege period can be linked to changes in the availability of scavengable food sources. These results yield insight not only into the consequences of war for the people of Tigray, but also into how the many armed conflicts in regions with large scavenger/carnivore populations may have long-lasting impacts on human-wildlife conflict around the globe.