Saturday, February 6, 2010

Sounds of Shebo

There’s a folk tale from here in Harar where Donkey is mourning Hyena’s dead son and says, rather insincerely, ‘Oh Hyena. No matter how far you are, your voice is always near. Why did your son desert you so?’
The ‘voice’ that donkey is referring to is the oowoop sound that hyenas make in the night. They can be across the other side of town but the sound seems to be coming from right outside the house. And each hyena’s oowoop is not only unique, but pretty easily recognisable if only you pay attention. This is video of Shebo – with wire still around her neck – making her oowoop. She makes the noise with nose to the ground, probably to get the most out of the reverberation, and she adds a trill to her oowoop, which may or may not be because of the wire tightening around her neck. But it’s always nice to hear it at night and know that she’s still kicking. I managed to find a vet at Haramaya University who said he has the capability to come and sedate her and remove the wire, but I’m having trouble mobilising him. Fingers crossed

1 comment:

  1. Hi Marcus - enjoying the blog very much but cannot get the videos to work - can anything be done? Good luck with Shebo. all the best Leanne

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