South India’s last significant population of striped hyenas ( Hyaena hyaena) live in the Sigur plateau. After years of a steady decline, there are fears that the species may become locally extinct unless urgent measures are taken to conserve the population.
A survey of the species is yet to be conducted in the Sigur plateau and the Moyar valley by the Forest Department. However, experts working in the landscape and Forest Department officials believe there are no more than 30-35 striped hyenas left, encompassing parts of the Mudumalai, Bandipur and Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserves.
According to Priya Davidar, a conservation biologist who lives in Mudumalai, the last time she spotted a hyena was in 2012. “We used to see them very often till the late 1980s. Then they gradually became harder to spot, and now, we don’t even hear their distinctive calls,” said Ms. Davidar. She noticed the decline from the 1990s. “I believe poisoning of carcasses in retaliation by herders targeting tigers could have played a significant role in the decline,” she said.
