Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Sensation prevailed in the city after a video featuring a striped-hyena straying near Shahi Masjid, in Delhi Gate vicinity, on Friday evening, got viral on Saturday.
It so happened that some youths playing nearby spotted the movement of wildlife. The animal tried to attack in the direction of youths screaming after seeing it. However, taking advantage of the darkness, the hyena strayed in the near Himayat Baugh.
According to the alert youths, they tried to contact the forest officials, but could not be connected. Later on, they went to the police station at 11 pm.
The video features the straying of hyena in the open area near Shahi Masjid during evening hours. The wildlife was moving here and there in search of a suitable safe place.
The range forest officer Dada Taur said, “The hyena is a carnivorous animal and would have forgotten the way while chasing the prey - herbivorous animals (like deer, its cubs, etc). The animal might be hungry and would have come from the nearby mountain range towards the city area.”
Meanwhile, the wildlife warden Dr Kishore Pathak said, “The straying of wildlife animals in the localities nearby Samruddhi Mahamarg has become frequent during the last one year. The habitats of wildlife animals have been destroyed due to constructions of highways and super expressways. Striped Hyena is not an aggressive animal. It would be straying around to find a safe place for itself in the darkness.”