Mekelle Hyenas Clear 5,000 Tons of Waste a Year, Saving City $100,000

3 articles · Updated · CNN · May 13

Nearly 5,000 metric tons of organic waste are processed each year by urban scavengers in Mekelle, with spotted hyenas doing about 90% of the work and cutting municipal disposal costs by $100,000.
The research says that cleanup role matters because waste collection is patchy: by consuming meat scraps and other organics, the animals reduce emissions from rotting waste and help curb diseases including anthrax and bovine tuberculosis.
More than 72% of over 400 households surveyed viewed hyenas and other scavengers as beneficial, reflecting a largely mutual relationship between residents and animals that feed at city landfills.
That coexistence is fragile: the 2020-2022 Tigray war reduced available waste, pushed some hyenas toward livestock and human remains, and left displaced people in camps on Mekelle's outskirts more exposed to attacks.
In Ethiopia, attitudes still vary widely—from Mekelle's practical acceptance to Harar's 500-year hyena-feeding tradition—while researchers argue urban planning and public education could protect scavengers whose wider populations are under pressure.

How does a dangerous nightly ritual in Ethiopia save a city over $100,000 annually?

Why does an ancient city welcome the same predators the world has been taught to fear?