Forest officials found the body of a hyena bearing a bullet wound on the Simaria-Tandwa main road on Wednesday evening, in an incident that seemed to be the work of hunters.

This is the first time that a hyena was found shot dead in a district where a large number of deer found are killed for meat.

The forest team reached the spot and sent the body of the dead animal for a post-mortem, after which the animal was buried in the forest area.

Local villagers said they had long spotted the hyena roaming in the forests. They said it had never disturbed them, and why hunters would have killed it was beyond their imagination.

However, a retired forest official said the manner of the bullet wound suggested that someone had killed the hyena for fun.

“It’s the work of someone of this very area, who knew about the movement of the hyena and killed it after getting the opportunity,” he added.

Range officer Umesh Prasad who led the team said hyenas do not usually frequent the area, adding that poaching and killing animals is a serious crime.

“The number of hyenas has already decreased and poaching will come as a curse on their existing numbers here. We keep an eye on poachers but also urge villagers to inform us if spot any hunters in their area,” said Prasad.

Caught honey badger in Hazaribagh Vishvendu Jaipuriar

In an incident in Hazaribagh’s Chauparan, villagers caught a fierce little mammal honey badger, or a bijju, and handed it to forest department.

The badger was entering the house of one Mohammad Ashfaq in Chaikala village, when he raised the alarm. Local villagers caught the omnivore, which is also known to dig caves and eat the buried human bodies.

Forest official Pankaj Kumar said that he would set the animal free in the forest, but was surprised about how the small and dangerous animal entered into human settlement.

Before being caught by villagers, the animal damaged household items at Ashfaq’s house.

Forest officials said honey badgers feed on various things, including birds, reptiles, rodents, berries, roots and fruits.

Their keen sense of smell helps them sniff out food hidden underground, while their long, strong claws help them dig for or catch that food, then rip their meal to pieces.

Honey badgers are named after their presumed fondness for honey. However, these animals are actually interested in the bee larvae found in honeycombs.