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Subspecies There are 5 subspecies of Striped Hyena: Indian Striped Hyaena (Hyaena hyaena hyaena Linnaeus, 1758) – India, Iraq, Iran, Turkey. Barbary Striped Hyaena (Hyaena hyaena Barbara de Blainville, 1844) – North West Africa. Sudanese Striped Hyaena (Hyaena hyaena dubbah Meyer, 1793) – North East Africa. Arabian Striped Hyaena (Hyaena hyaena sultana Pocock, 1934) – Arabian Peninsula. Syrian Striped Hyaena (Hyaena hyaena syriaca Matschie, 1900) – Levant, Iraq, Turkey (Khalaf, March 2020, April 2020).
Striped Hyaena (Hyaena hyaena sultana) in Saudi Arabia Classified as near threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), dwindling numbers of the Striped Hyena exist in Saudi Arabia today. In Saudi Arabia, the Arabian hyenas have lived there for thousands of years. We can see a lot of hyaena rock art engraved on mountain rocks in different parts of the Kingdom (see photo on page 2). They live in open land close to agricultural areas, as well as in wadis and lava fields (Harat), and spread in most parts of the Kingdom Except for the Empty Quarter and the desert of Nafud. It is abundant in the western, northern, eastern and southwestern regions and parts of the central region. The Striped Hyena lives a nomadic lifestyle, constantly on the move. It is a popular feature in Middle Eastern folklore and there have been a few reports in the past of this animal being a delicacy amongst some families in Middle Eastern countries (Abbasi1986) including Saudi Arabia.
Slaughtering an Arabian Striped Hyaena in Saudi Arabia. https://mz-mz.net/29882/. Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin – Number 185 – May 2020