The Bone Collector

Hyenas are amongst the most intelligent animals on Earth and are crucial for the fine ecological balance in the wild. These vacuum cleaners of nature help prevent the spread of disease by consuming dead and rotting carcasses. However, these incredible predators are yet another species fighting to survive, primarily due to habitat loss. Striped Hyenas have adapted to survive, and seem to have altered their behaviors in subtle ways to coexist with people. However, myths perpetuated around their aggression, and the loss of cattle, which hyenas now consume for food, have put them on the losing end of the battle with human beings.

For my maiden tryst with camera trapping, I visited Gujarat. My desire to photograph a species outside the shrinking boundaries of the protected area led me to portray how wildlife adapted and thrived outside protected areas. To get a lay of the land, I got in touch with locals, did a recce, and planned my equipment. What set my heart racing, was the revelation by locals, that they had been seeing Jharakh (Striped Hyenas in Kathiawadi-Gujarati dialect) at a village carcass dumping site. The juxtaposition of human excess consumption and the fight for survival by the hyena made the prospect hugely exciting. After tracking the Hyenas for a few days, I decided to deploy the camera trap in a spot where the path was full of carrion, and included in the frame is a cow skull, with the hope of capturing life and death in the same frame, the chance of capturing the Hyena in its true element, as a scavenger.