BEIRUT — Hyenas are usually associated with the plains of sub-Saharan Africa, not the mountains of Lebanon. However, the striped hyena is not just a native species to Lebanon, it is the national animal. Yet the hyena is still hunted and misunderstood, weathering hostility while cleaning the country they represent.

The striped hyena, unlike its spotted cousin, is small, around the size of a German Shepherd, with a passive and solitary nature. They can be found near villages but are more interested in the garbage the population produces then the people who live there. Yet hyenas are still killed by poachers and viewed as a dangerous predator by many.

“What is frustrating to us is that you have a beautiful species in this country that deserves to be protected and does not cause any harm,” Jason Meir, the director of Animals Lebanon, a non-governmental group that campaigns for animal rights and welfare, told Al-Monitor. Still, “you are still seeing hyenas being killed and photos [of this] being posted on social media.”

Despite the hunting of hyenas being illegal, Meir explained that “compliance with laws is not 100% … if someone wants to take his gun and go shoot there is not a lot we can do.” This situation led to the striped hyenas being declared a near threatened species in 2008.