Striped Hyenas Destroy Nature Cameras Across Israel's Urban and Rural Areas

The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI) has reported a series of incidents where their trail cameras have disappeared or been destroyed across the country, with striped hyenas identified as the culprits. During a recent urban nature survey in Rehovot, funded by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, SPNI senior surveyor Yitzhak Cohen found one of three trail cameras missing its body and memory card, losing all recorded data. Evidence at the site showed bite marks and tracks pointing to a striped hyena, which apparently chewed and destroyed the camera.

Similar cases have been documented in northern Israel, including the Upper Galilee and Jezreel Valley, where cameras captured footage of hyenas attacking the equipment. Liron Shapira, SPNI's northern nature conservation coordinator, explained that this behavior is known among hyenas, who are particularly curious compared to other mammals. Not all individuals exhibit this, but some hyenas show notable interest in the cameras.

Yael Zilberstein-Brezida, head of SPNI's urban nature surveys unit, noted that striped hyenas are omnivores increasingly approaching urban fringes due to accessible food sources. Populations near cities such as Rehovot, Rishon Lezion, Modiin, Jerusalem, and Beersheba are growing. This trend raises concerns for municipal authorities regarding waste management and the need for hyena-proof garbage containers to mitigate human-wildlife conflicts.