Abstract
The striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena) is an understudied large carnivore with no known historic range map. Knowledge of the past and present extent of its easternmost distribution beyond 85° east longitude is dubious. Through a comprehensive review of historical evidence and contemporary records, we investigated striped hyena presence in Bengal, i.e., Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal in South Asia. We found 14 historical records, with the oldest one dating to 1876. Our review establishes Bangladesh as a former striped hyena range country and the striped hyena as one of the first large carnivores to go extinct in Bangladesh. We identified northern Bangladesh as part of its historical range (until ~1965), and south-central Bangladesh as a possible part of its historical range. In West Bengal, India, hyenas were historically present up to the southern tributaries of the Brahmaputra River, but the present range is reduced. The area south of the Damodar River is its last refuge in Bengal. We also found 15 contemporary records (2010–2021) in Bengal, from sites situated on the eastern limit of the Chota Nagpur Plateau. These records noted 25 sightings including 9 deaths due to poaching, train accidents, and retaliatory killings. Our review demonstrates that hyenas are currently present up to 87° east longitude, which extends the currently documented easternmost range for the species by almost 1,000 km. We recommend methods which can be applied to delineate the historical extent of striped hyenas elsewhere as well as for other poorly understood species.
Highlights
The striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena), one of the four extant hyena species, is native to 41 countries across North and East Africa, the Middle East, the Caucasus, and Central and South Asia (AbiSaid and Dloniak 2015; Castelló 2020)
We considered a result pertinent only if the location was within the present-day geopolitical boundary of West Bengal, India, or Bangladesh
We excluded Maiti (2021) as, from the video provided with the report, we identified the animal as an Indian wolf (Canis lupus pallipes)
Summary
The striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena), one of the four extant hyena species, is native to 41 countries across North and East Africa, the Middle East, the Caucasus, and Central and South Asia (AbiSaid and Dloniak 2015; Castelló 2020). Despite being widespread across two continents, it is classified as Near Threatened by the IUCN Red List with a declining population of fewer than 10,000 mature individuals, occurring patchily and at low densities throughout its range (Mills and Hofer 1998; Wagner 2006; AbiSaid and Dloniak 2015). It is an understudied member of the family Hyaenidae (Watts and Holekamp 2007). Menon (2014) considered its extant range up to 87°
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