Hyena drags girl, 8, into bush
23/08/2007 07:29 - (SA)


Alet van Zyl and Norman Chandler, Beeld

Johannesburg - An eight-year-old girl of Clynton in Johannesburg will have to have reconstructive surgery after being attacked by a spotted hyena in a Botswana nature reserve.

Christin Chalwin-Milton was sleeping on a chair next to her tour group's campfire at Third Bridge camp, Moremi Naature Reserve, at about 21:00 last Thursday when the scavenger attacked her from behind, grabbing the left side of her head.

Ralph Chalwin-Milton, Christin's father, said on Wednesday at the Sandton Medi-Clinic where she's recuperating that at first he thought her chair was falling over and ran towards her.

When he saw she was being dragged off , he realised that a hyena had his child in its jaws.

Chalwin-Milton stormed at the animal shouting, and scared it off.

"I could see immediately that she was seriously injured," he said.

The hyena tore Christin's head open from her eye to behind her ear, and ripped her left ear off.

Chalwin Milton picked the ear up off the ground and put it on ice.

They tried to get hold of a helicopter to fly Christin to Maun, but didn't succeed.

Chalwin Milton then rushed her to hospital in his own 4x4 vehicle.

"She was on the front seat and a tour guide, Tshonolo Moje of Karibu Safari, sat behind me and showed me the way," he explained.

"About 40 km from Maun we met up with the ambulance and an emergency service worker also climbed into my vehicle and started treatment. The ambulance followed us all the way to Maun."

Christin was first treated at the state hospital in Maun against rabies and tetanus, and then transferred to the private hospital.

Chalwin-Milton says the family realises how lucky Christin really is.

"One doesn't easily survive being bitten by a hyena."

Christin's ear can be reconstructed and her facial muscles and nerves, as well as her hearing and sight are in tact.

Chalwin-Milton said in spite of the attack they were "still crazy about the Botswana bush".

"We know about the dangers of the bush. It was just a freak accident," Chalwin-Milton emphasised.

"People just have to realise that they must be very alert (in the bush).

"We're paranoid, alert parents and it still happened to us."

Safari operators in Botswana said they were very concerned that tourists were feeding wild animals in nature reserves. The camps at Moremi are not fenced.

"We feel it's a tragedy that people feed the wild animals, because the result is that the animals get too used to humans and have to be put down," Chalwin-Milton said.

A 12-year-old American boy was bitten to death in his tent by hyenas in the same nature reserve in 2000.

Sad, but I wonder why they consider the hyena to be a scavenger?

I wouldn't view that as a "freak accident" but as a real possibilty.

That poor little girl.

Really sad. You would think sitting around a fire with a group of people would be safe.

I was camping in Moremi a couple of weeks ago. We found hyena, lion and elephant prints in camp in the mornings. The guides told us the hyenas came in camp just as soon as we went to bed. I was sitting on the ground outside my tent one night after everyone had gone to bed and one of the staff came over and 'suggested' that I go inside because it isn't safe. After reading this, I'm sure glad I did.

quote:

Originally posted by cjw:
Really sad. You would think sitting around a fire with a group of people would be safe.

You would?! Not a young little thing sleeping. I wouldn't think that. Jesus, I've lost track of how many accounts in books I've read, the best of the best, worried and on the lookout for just that, sleeping round the fire. More than lion sometimes. I think it was Fred Bartlett's brother-in-law who was actually dragged out of the fire circle.

I think this is only news because she is a White Girl.

I believe that not many years ago a young woman from England had part of her face ripped off by a Hyena while sleeping outside of her tent one evening on her cot. She lived, but was badly disfigured. One of the risks that you take, along with ele, buff, lion, croc, hippo, etc etc. in going to Africa. The risk becomes more dramatic when it happens to children or young people.

quote:

Originally posted by Use Enough Gun:
I believe that not many years ago a young woman from England had part of her face ripped off by a Hyena while sleeping outside of her tent one evening on her cot. She lived, but was badly disfigured. One of the risks that you take, along with ele, buff, lion, croc, hippo, etc etc. in going to Africa. The risk becomes more dramatic when it happens to children or young people.

I Had been listening to a lion roar for hours before going to bed in a thatch lean-to with an open front! It was a moonless night, and the roaring got closer after the lights went out. The last time I heard the lion it seemed to be about 200 yds behind my lean-to.

In a few minutes I heard the foot falls on the sandy soil in front of my sleeping quarters, moveing from my right to my left within ten feet of the foot of my bed. I slid a 375 H&H round into the chamber of my rifle, as quietly as I could,pointed it down between my feet at the sound, which had stopped. It was so dark I couldn't see my hands in front of my face. After what seemed like an hour(probably was no more than ten seconds), the foot falls, continued on, and out of hearing. Needless to say, I didn't sleep well that night.

In the morning, I walked out of my lean-to, and examined the large tracks. It was plain to see the animal had stopped, and turned to face the foot of my bed, then had turned, and continued on. About this time, the PH came out of his lean-to about 30 feet away. I called him over and said, "LOOK AT THIS!", to which he replied, "He got pritty close, HUH? You thought it was the lion, right?" When I answered yes, he said, "Well you were in far more danger of being bitten, with him than you would have been with a lion! It was a large Hyena, and they have a habit of biteing the face off sleeping people "

I don't in any way consider the Hyena to be a silly clown that others do! They are serious animals, that deserve some respect!