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Transcript/Script((PLAYBOOK SLUG: TVR - KENYA-ENVIRONMENT-WILDLIFE-CONFLICT
HEADLINE: Hyena attacks blamed on abandoned quarries, improper livestock disposal
TEASER:
PUBLISHED: 06/27/2024 at 9:20 am
BYLINE: Mohammed Yusuf
DATELINE: Nairobi
VIDEOGRAPHER: Mohammed Yusuf
SCRIPT EDITORS: cobus, DLJ
VIDEO: VOA Original/ Archive AP/AFP
PLATFORMS: WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO _X_
TRT: 3:05
VID APPROVED BY: Baragona
EDITORS NOTES: )
((INTRO)) [[Residents of a town north of Nairobi are dealing with a surge in hyena attacks. In the past four months, the wild animals have killed three people, including a 10-year-old boy. The rise in human-wildlife conflict has been blamed primarily on humans encroaching on wildlife habitats. But residents of Juja blame improper disposal of livestock among other factors. Mohammed Yusuf reports.]]
((Set up shot of Juja))
((NARRATION))
Residents of Juja, a town some 30 kilometers north of Nairobi, live in constant fear of hyenas.
((Set up shot of Mukami guarding apartment/ people walking in))
((NARRATION))
Forty-one-year-old security guard Pauline Mukami is the latest victim of an attack. On her way home from work one evening, she encountered a wild animal that wanted to eat her alive.
(( For radio: She says the hyena tried to jump on my neck. By luck, she says, she turned around and was able to face him. Mukani says she got help from a man nearby, who told her not to run. If you run, he said, it may bite you. She says she didn’t run, and the hyena started walking ahead of her. When it saw the light from a motorbike, it ran away. ))
((Pauline Mukami, Hyena Attack Victim IN SWAHILI))
"The hyena tried to jump on my neck. By luck, I turned around, and I was able to face him. I got help from another man nearby. He was telling me not to run; if you run, it may jump on you and bite you. I didn't run, and then it started walking ahead of me. Then it saw the flashlight from a motorbike, and it ran away."
((Muinani leaving the house/ Shot of Muinani in the field where his son was attacked, leading to where he found the body))
((NARRATION))
Tiya Ole Muinani's 10-year-old son was not lucky. He was attacked in January by a pack of hyenas while with his friends. It dragged him 300 meters to this thicket where his remains were found. The father is struggling to accept the loss.
(( For radio: Muinani says the death of my son has affected me a lot. He was a good boy and among all my children, there is no one like him. He says when I go to work in the evening, my son will tell me not to fear anything and not to get tired because if you get tired, we won't get educated."
((Tiya Ole Muinani - Juja Resident IN SWAHILI))
"The death of my son has affected me a lot. He was a good boy and among all my children, there is no one like him. When I go to work in the evening, he will tell me not to fear anything and not to get tired because if you get tired, we won't get educated."
((Shots of Hyena in a park from Archives AP))
((NARRATION))
Juja has recorded three fatal hyena attacks and several injuries since March. Kenya’s Wildlife Service has captured at least ten hyenas in the area since that time.
((Shot of Edward and a man walking))
((NARRATION))
But some still roam the area at night, worrying locals like Edward Omani.
(( For radio: Omani says these hyenas scare us. We go to work late, he says, and worry for the family you left behind. He says you are thinking maybe the hyenas are back and attacked my family. It scares us a lot.))
((Edward Omani, Juja Resident IN SWAHILI))
"These hyenas have scared us. We go to work late, and you do your work while you are worried, fearing for the family you left behind, you are thinking maybe the hyenas are back and attacked my family. It scares us a lot."
((Shot of stream/ shot of quarry and hiding spaces))
((NARRATION))
The hyenas' return to the area is blamed in part on abandoned quarries, which are perfect places for them to hide before coming out to attack people.
((Shot of Juja slaughter/ waste in the slaughterhouse))
((NARRATION))
Inadequate disposal from butcheries is also to blame.
((Set up shot of Philip Muruthi))
((NARRATION))
Philip Muruthi is the deputy head of the African Wildlife Foundation. He says proper waste disposal is critical to mitigating human-wildlife conflict.
((Philip Muruthi, African Wildlife Foundation))
“More as it's about wildlife behavior, it's also about human behavior. So, for example, if you have an open dump where you are also throwing your refuse from the butcheries, the meat, and the bones, that's an attraction to animals. Hyenas are going to come and look for that, so keeping the environment clean is part of this equation."
((Shot of hyena Archive AFP/ people in the estate/ children/ shot street in Juja))
((NARRATION))
Kenya Wildlife Service officials are urging residents of Juja to stay calm when confronted by hyenas and not move until the hyena starts walking away.
Environmental experts, however, say the ultimate solution is getting the animals out of residential areas.
((Mohammed Yusuf, VOA News, Juja, Kenya))
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