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Mammal · Hyaena hyaena
Striped Hyena
लकड़बग्घा
IUCN NT · Near threatened
A shaggy scavenger that walks by night and lives on what larger predators and people leave behind.
How to recognise it
A sloping back, a black-and-grey striped coat and a mane that lifts when the animal is uneasy. Almost entirely nocturnal, so sightings come at the very end of the evening safari or in headlights.
Where to see it
Jaipur
In Jhalana it shares the reserve with the leopards, and the camera-trap survey found it well distributed through the reserve and most often near the south-eastern boundary, close to houses. The hyena cleans up what the leopards and the city leave behind, which is why it lives closest to the houses rather than deepest in the forest.
Jhalana Leopard Reserve · Nahargarh Biological Park