In a groundbreaking discovery, a spotted hyena has been found in southeastern Egypt for the first time in thousands of years, marking a significant shift in the species’ known range. The animal was caught and killed by locals approximately 30 kilometers from the Sudanese border, according to a study published in the journal Mammalia.
Abdullah Nagy, the study’s lead author from Al-Azhar University in Egypt, expressed his astonishment at the finding. “My initial reaction was disbelief,” Nagy said. “It wasn’t until I examined the photos and videos of the remains that I fully grasped the magnitude of the discovery. It was entirely unexpected.”
The hyena was located about 500 kilometers north of its known habitat in Sudan. Researchers suggest that a regional weather phenomenon, known as the Active Red Sea Trough, might have contributed to the animal’s journey. This climatic event has recently brought increased rainfall and plant growth to the region, potentially creating a migration corridor with sufficient prey to support the hyena’s movement.
By analyzing satellite data from 1984 to 2022, the research team found a noticeable increase in vegetation growth over the last five years, compared to earlier decades. “The corridor area has become less environmentally hostile, offering a more viable route for migration, which may explain how the hyena reached this far north,” Nagy explained. However, the exact factors driving the hyena’s long-distance journey remain uncertain.
Spotted hyenas are typically found in sub-Saharan Africa, where they are known to travel great distances, often following livestock migrations. The hyena in this study was reported to have killed two goats in the Elba Protected Area before being tracked and killed in late February 2024.
This rare sighting challenges existing knowledge about the species’ range and raises important questions about how climate change could influence animal migration. Further research is needed to fully understand the implications of this unexpected event.
