Range and Population
The striped hyena's historical range encompasses Africa north of and including the Sahel zone, eastern Africa south into Tanzania, the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East up to the Mediterranean shores, Turkey, Iraq, the Caucasus (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia), Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan (excluding the higher areas of Hindukush) and the Indian Subcontinent. Today the species' distribution is patchy in most ranges, thus indicating that it occurs in many isolated populations, particularly in most of west Africa, most of the Sahara, parts of the Middle East, the Caucasus and central Asia. It does however have a continuous distribution over large areas of Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania. Its modern distribution in Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan is unknown with some sizable large number in India in open areas of Deccan Peninsula.
| Country | Population | Status | Threats/Protection |
|---|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | Unknown | Data Deficient | Striped hyenas are caught, either for hyena-baiting or for medicinal purposes |
| Algeria | 50-100 | Threatened | Although protected by décret no. 83-509, striped hyenas are declining in Algeria due to poaching, forest fires and the disturbing of den sites |
| Burkina Faso | 100-1,000 | Data Deficient | Burkina Faso's striped hyena population is low but stable, with hunting only being permitted outside national parks and in retaliation to livestock losses |
| Cameroon | 100-1,000 | Data Deficient | Cameroon's striped hyenas are afforded no protection or special attention |
| Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaidjan, Georgia) | 150-200 | Threatened | Declining in all three countries due to hunting for fur and in retaliation to attacks on humans.Other factors include habitat loss, a reduction in large herbivore populations and changes in livestock management |
| Chad | Unknown | Data Deficient | |
| Egypt | 1,000-2,000 | Data Deficient | Striped hyenas are offered no protection, and are hunted and poisoned as pests. There is also a reduced availability of animal carcasses for them to feed on |
| Ethiopia, Djibouti, Eritrea | Unknown | Lower Risk in Ethiopia and Data Deficient in Eritrea, with no records in Djibouti | Ethiopian hyenas are specially protected under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife Conservation Amendment Regulations (1974), though they may be hunted under special permit for EtBirr 40 (equivalent to US$20) for science, education or zoology |
| India | 1,000-3,000 | Data Deficient | Although India's hyenas are protected, this is given only within conservation areas, and the population is in decline due to poaching, competition with leopards over shelter and diminishing food stocks |
| Iran | Unknown | Data Deficient | Striped hyenas are protected by law |
| Iraq | 100-1,000 | Threatened | Iraqi hyena populations are decreasing, though wildlife laws regulate their hunting |
| Israel | 100-170 | Threatened | Although hyenas have largely recovered from the strychnine poisoning campaigns of 1918-1948, and are protected by law, the current nature reserves housing them may be too small to ensure viable populations. Road accidents are their most serious threat |
| Jordan | Unknown | Threatened | Hyenas are actively hunted, as they are considered threats to human life |
| Kenya | 1,000-2,000 | Lower Risk | Striped hyenas are likely to decrease in Kenya because of accelerated habitat destruction and poaching |
| Kuwait | 0 | Probably extinct | |
| Lebanon | Unknown | Data Deficient | |
| Libya | Unknown | Data Deficient | |
| Mali | Unknown | Data Deficient | |
| Mauritiana | Unknown | Data Deficient | |
| Morocco | 50-500 | Threatened | Though protected by law, the hyena population is in drastic decline, with the remaining individuals now having withdrawn to the southern mountains |
| Nepal | 10-50 | Data Deficient | Although a small population of hyenas is confirmed, it is not considered a priority for protection by the government |
| Niger | 100-500 | Threatened | Declining due to officially sanctioned hunting and persecution campaigns, as well as habitat loss and overgrazing |
| Nigeria | Unknown | Threatened | |
| Oman | 100-1,000 | Threatened | Although not protected, striped hyenas are not officially persecuted, and are considered useful scavengers |
| Pakistan | Unknown | Data Deficient | |
| Saudi Arabia | 100-1,000 | Threatened | Though not officially persecuted, Arabian hyenas are not offered protection, and are severely poached |
| Senegal | 50-100 | Threatened | |
| Somalia | Unknown | Data Deficient | |
| Sudan | Unknown | Data Deficient | |
| Syria | Unknown | Data Deficient | |
| Tajikistan | Unknown | Threatened | |
| Tanzania | Unknown | Data Deficient | Striped hyenas can be hunted, though they are not usually a target species. Road accidents are the most frequently recorded cause of mortality |
| Tunisia | Unknown | Data Deficient | |
| Turkey | Small isolated populations | Threatened | |
| Turkmenistan | 100-500 | Threatened | Declining from hunting, though listed in the Red Data Book of Turkmenia |
| United Arab Emirates | 0 | Probably extinct | |
| Uzbekistan | 25-100 | Threatened | Striped hyena populations have declined over decades from active hunting and habitat loss, though they are listed in the Red Data Book of Uzbekistan and are protected |
| Western Sahara | Unknown | Data Deficient | |
| Yemen | Unknown | Data Deficient |
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