Awesome African Pets
An incredible series of photographs taken in Nigeria as part of Pieter Hugo’s ‘Gadawan Kura’ – The Hyena Men(click each image to view in high resolution):
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All those photos are disgusting.
The animals were suposed to be in the jungle, and not among people, with chains in their necks.
My only fear is if they attack, these are not domesticated animals. They are wild and could easily turn on their ‘owner’. Sure, they may be loved and cared for…but teaching a wild animal not to be afraid of humans may simply make them more likely to attack. I only hope they are loved and treated kindly.
Though it is a bit cute that the baboon is with its master in clothing.
These animals were meant to be in the wild. There is nothing “awesome” about taking them from their natural environment, or anything “cute” about putting clothes or leashes on them. Yes, they are going to attack people at some point. The worst part about that is that the animals are the ones that will be blamed for it, when in reality it is 100% the humans fault.
i think these photos are aweful.
aren’t there enough domesticated animals in the world, that could easliy be these peoples pets? And why would they want pets that have to be chained and muzzled all the time> I don’t get the shear stupidity of human beings sometimes
can you guys seriously lighten up?
This is so sad, those animals, all of them keep the food chain in balance, and if we domesticate all of them there will be serious consequences. They are meant to NOT be on LEACHES, or in MUZZLES.
Those people look as chained as their animals.
A bit of info: these are the Hyena Men of Harar, a group of travelling minstrels that keep hyenas and baboons as pets and use them as part of their show. The baboons, I’m not sure, but hyenas can be as tame as a German shepherd if raised as a pup, which I undersatnd is the case. I see people who have pitbulls on muzzles as these have the hyenas, so I guess they’re not that stupid. I wouldn’t keep a baboon as a pet even with all the love in the world, though. Read more here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/2079781.stm
A bit of info: these are the Hyena Men of Harar, a group of travelling minstrels that keep hyenas and baboons as pets and use them as part of their show. The baboons, I’m not sure, but hyenas can be as tame as a German shepherd if raised as a pup, which I undersatnd is the case. I see people who have pitbulls on muzzles as these have the hyenas, so I guess they’re not that stupid. I wouldn’t keep a baboon as a pet even with all the love in the world, though. Read more here: http://www.michaelstevenson.com/contemporary/exhibitions/hugo/nigeria_index2.htm
I believe the corect spelling is leashes.
The monkeys are darn cute though.
I don’t find it aweful, I find it hilarious. I mean, why have a dog when you could have something with the jaw pressure to bite your arm off. Sounds like a Darwin award waiting to happen…. if it hasn’t already.
I don’t find it awful, I find it hilarious. I mean, why have a dog when you could have something with the jaw pressure to bite your arm off. Sounds like a Darwin award waiting to happen…. if it hasn’t already. And people…. Hyenas don’t live in the jungle, they live in the dry savanna.
I AM OUTRAGED ON THE INTERNET
I JUDGE CULTURES I’LL NEVER SEE ON THE INTERNET
ITT sticks up asses.
also, “darwin for them lulz!” is as old and trite as “i sprayed coffee on my screen lulz!” but i guess we’re in for another five-ten years of it as more and more people hear the phrase and can’t wait to use it. just like people who learn the meaning of schadenfreude, they just can’t wait to try it out for themselves. ooh ooh you know what it means too!! get over it. and yourselves.
I am far more offended by this blogger posting these pics like noone has ever seen them before than by the fact that some guy in Kenya having a monkey on a chain.
that’s your right i guess, bump, maybe you should frequent more ‘happening’ websites. i know i’ve seen a couple of these for a year or more, but the baboon ones are new to me.
isnt that the same as americans keeping wolves and coyotes as pets.
im sure yourlittle fido wasnt put on earth to be domesticated. looks to me as if the muzzle is something along the lines of “responsible pet ownership” in public; as some of the other photos show the hyena sans muzzle with a toddler on top of it.
edit:as some of the other photos elsewhere on the internet
show the hyena sans muzzle with a toddler on top of it.
try to look at these photos as pieces of artwork instead of as something you can immediately judge and scold. try to understand what the photographer was conveying to us by taking these photos. there is more to these photographs that what you are seeing.
I was going to write something outrageous about animal lovers. But I gave up because bleeding heart animal lovers have no hope and will always be dissapointed in how screwed animals are. You’d rather care for dumb animals than people who need it.
May baboons and hienas munch the bones of nazi animal lovers everywhere.
jeez guys i’ve looked at the pictures and then read all your comments. All this guy is trying to do, is educate us in different cultures, we are a people from the so called new age but we cant accept other peoples way of life. Are you guys that seriously messed up and dumb enough to be saying, “aww poor animals, it must hurt them”, just shut up and study the suffering of the people in the pictures, the animals and others around them and then look at ur account balance, they dont have that!!!! so spare consideration would you!!!!!
Its just as stupid to lump all animal lovers into one category as it is for people to make snap judgements based on the photographs.
But you people getting all angry, how about you give a darn about the animals abused right here in our own country first, huh? You wanna know what they do to those chickens that wind up on your dinner plate? How they’ve treated that baby cow that became an entree? No, of course you dont.
Cause they are just dumb farm animals, not exotic, so they don’t count.
Right?
For those who think the animals should be in the wild…….do you have any pets? Dogs- originally from the wild (some are still there)…. cats- from the wild….I can go on and on. Where do you people think ALL animals that haven’t been created in a lab originally came from? I’m with Samantha on this!
Thank you much to the person who posted above me. I was going to say just that when reading the first couple comments but it’s been said so I won’t repeat it. I will say one thing; have any of you people condemning the treatment of these animals ever eaten veal? Try typing that in Google or looking up veal crates. Which do you think is more humane?
Dogs and cats ARE from the wild, but many, many generations of selective breeding is what makes dogs and cats tame enough not to rip our throats out. As for these Africans abusing animals, let’s not forget how we treat our own domestic livestock. If you have no problem blissfully eating a steak fajita from Applebees then you have no right to complain about these men making a living in a completely different culture and economy.
I think the title is quite misleading
and perhaps part of the reason there’s been so much backlash against these works of art
The animals are far from ‘awsome pets’
the animals are part of a culture
it’s sad that these animals suffer but
what about the suffering of the PEOPLE in these photographs?
are we blind to that?
Human suffering?
I recommend reading visiting the site where this was originally posted. See the art in context. Read the story.
The story is as beautiful as the pictures.
here is the artist’s website with more information about his journey to capture these people
as well as a few more photographs
Pieter Hugo says:
“Many animal-rights groups also contacted me, wanting to intervene (however, the keepers have permits from the Nigerian government). When I asked Nigerians, “How do you feel about the way they treat animals”, the question confused people. Their responses always involved issues of economic survival. Seldom did anyone express strong concern for the well-being of the creatures. Europeans invariably only ask about the welfare of the animals but this question misses the point. Instead, perhaps, we could ask why these performers need to catch wild animals to make a living. Or why they are economically marginalised. Or why Nigeria, the world’s sixth largest exporter of oil, is in such a state of disarray.”
september 10th article, all january 3rd comments. stumblers unite!!
Thank you all for your comments! Honestly, there’s nothing better than the angry bickering posted below some controversial something-or-other to get me smiling. Your stupidity and simple-mindedness makes my day! In fact, you’ve even inspired me to create a super controversial website that I’ll use to gather more comments for my own reading pleasure. Afterwards, I’ll even take the time to psychoanalyze the authors of the comments so that I may compile some work on human behavior and treat you all like the lab rats you really are.
Now, on a more serious note: what is the point of arguing? It’s highly unlikely that any of you will ever come back to read what the others have written in response (though you can count on me to do so myself). Let’s just get back on track and turn a blind eye. Unless, of course, you are going out to make a difference? If that’s the case, then by all means go! But if you are just going to comment, you might want to think twice before posting something that tries to ridicule someone. You never know what you’re going to get back, and even if you don’t ever read it… won’t it just eat away at you, wondering if someone has one-upped you? Or am I overestimating again? In any case, it’s just a bit of friendly advice.
sad…they use the animals as a gimmick to make money to survive
if everyone had food rations and a place to shit cook and fuck there’d be no reason to try and domesticate a hyena
foxycock!
Dogs and cats were wild once. Was it a bad thing to domesticate them? If these animals are domesticated today in two thousand years having pet hyenas and primates will be common.
dam those monkey masters. putting those clothes on that money/ape/chimpanzee/baboon/whatever the hell it is. its just so darn cute. they be chillin out on the bench together. aand no offence guys but it looks like the monkeys clothes are newer then his masters lol.I dont see blood or serious infection around the neck so i dont think the collor is on to tight. hey if you can catch them u can have them. if you want to see animal abuse go look up chained bears where the people peiarced a chain in the nose of the baer so it cant escape. these animals have it good compared to them. I have seen animal cruetly. these animals are lucky.
Hey, Davi Lutzen….fuck you
Oh the poor animals!
What about the PEOPLE?
If people living in places with crushing poverty and pervasive violence want to have a pet ape or hyena, how can some spoiled PETA / SPCA idiot sit there and say “ahh the poor animals!”
How about pressuring your governments to stop not only a)LETTING these people starve while food rots in our warehouses by the megaton, and goverments subsidize crops only to destroy them to prevent food from becomming “too cheap” but also b)CAUSING them to starve with oppresive WTO and IMF predatory lending and extortion practices!
k thx bye
Stumbled upon the site and not too fond of it. But the only reason I’m commenting is because I happened to be bored enough to read other people’s comments.
b-train:
Stop the pointless complaints. And lay off the caps lock. Those phrases are a ‘trend.’ I don’t support following ‘trends’, but there is nothing that is going to stop it. If you are going to single out certain people for stating popular phrases when other people do the exact same thing, you can expect karma to bite you hard.
Exe: I’m sick of the PETA/SPCA labels. I am a supporter of both, however I am also a humanitarian and care about the civilians of Africa and other countries that aren’t so well off. Just because I am an animal rights activist and/or support rights for all living creatures DOESN’T mean that I do not care for people. And I am sure that I speak for others in these comments who cared about the animals.
/Rant
if i lived in africa, i would have these pets. because my impoverished aids ridden worm infested life would be constantly at risk of some other diseased dispaired individual killing me for the pocket full of oats i feed my 29 children with.
seriously, shut up. “animal rights” do not exist in most other POOR COUNTRIES because they have other, and more important, things to worry about. so just shut up. muzzle up a wild something or other, put it on a chain, and get some peace of mind, or even a small amount of enjoyment, in the BLEAK AND OFTEN SHORT life you are given if you arent me or you.
Michelle, if you put the suffering of animals on the same level as humans then you;re EXACTLY the type of person I was aiming at.
To be an activist for animal rights is a monumental waste of energy when so much needs done for humans.
How about next time instead of protesting the animal testing lab, store that sells furs or pet shop, you spend the gas money it would have cost you to buy a meal for a homeless person?
A socially conscious person has no business giving time and money to animal rights while people starve; that’s what I’m saying.
How many people could be fed with the funds PETA uses to…guess what? EUTHANIZE more animals than ANY other organization on earth!
*SIGH* Clueless people trying to be “good citizens” falling prey to front organizations for big money groups with no interest in the welfare of either people OR animals!
PETA’s Dirty Secret
7 Things You Didn’t Know About PETA
By ConsumerFreedom.com
Sunday, January 28, 2007
1) PETA president and co-founder Ingrid Newkirk has described her group’s overall goal as “total animal liberation.†This means no meat, no milk, no zoos, no circuses, no wool, no leather, no hunting, no fishing, and no pets (not even seeing-eye dogs). PETA is also against all medical research that requires the use of animals.
2) Despite its constant moralizing about the “unethical†treatment of animals by restaurant owners, grocers, farmers, scientists, anglers, and countless other Americans, PETA has killed over 14,400 dogs and cats at its Norfolk, Virginia headquarters. During 2005, PETA put to death over 90 percent of the animals it collected from members of the public.
3) PETA has given tens of thousands of dollars to convicted arsonists and other violent criminals. This includes a 2001 donation of $1,500 to the North American Earth Liberation Front (ELF), an FBI-certified “domestic terrorist†group responsible for dozens of firebombs and death threats. During the 1990s, PETA paid $70,200 to an Animal Liberation Front (ALF) activist convicted of burning down a Michigan State University research laboratory. In his sentencing recommendation, a federal prosecutor implicated PETA president Ingrid Newkirk in that crime. And PETA vegetarian campaign coordinator Bruce Friedrich told an animal rights convention in 2001 that “blowing stuff up and smashing windows†is “a great way to bring about animal liberation.â€
4) PETA activists regularly target children as young as six years old with anti-meat and anti-milk propaganda, often waiting outside their schools to intercept them as they walk to and from class-without notifying parents. One piece of kid-targeted PETA literature tells small children: “Your Mommy Kills Animals!†PETA brags that its messages reach over 2 million children every year, including thousands reached by e-mail without the permission of their parents. One PETA vice president told the Fox News Channel’s audience: “Our campaigns are always geared towards children, and they always will be.â€
5) PETA has used a related organization, the PETA Foundation, to fund the misnamed Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), a deceptive animal rights group that promotes itself as an unbiased source of medical and nutritional information. PCRM’s president also serves as president of the PETA Foundation.
6) PETA runs campaigns seemingly calculated to offend religious believers. One entire PETA website is devoted to the claim-despite ample evidence to the contrary-that Jesus Christ was a vegetarian. PETA holds protests at houses of worship, even suing one church that tried to protect its members from Sunday-morning harassment. Its billboards taunt Christians with the message that hogs “died for their sins.†PETA insists, contrary to centuries of rabbinical teaching, that the Jewish ritual of kosher slaughter shouldn’t be allowed. And its infamous “Holocaust on Your Plate†campaign crassly compares the Jewish victims of Nazi genocide with farm animals.
7) PETA has repeatedly attacked research foundations like the March of Dimes, the Pediatric AIDS Foundation, and the American Cancer Society, because they support animal-based research that might uncover cures for birth defects and life-threatening diseases. PETA president Ingrid Newkirk has said that “even if animal research resulted in a cure for AIDS, we would be against it.â€
These animals are not kept as pets.
These animals are kept as a performing act. A travelling tribe that performs with their animals.
It’s no worse than us Americans having a circus.
Umm… The first picture is also part of album art for Gorillaz’s Demon Days. So I’m kind of doubting this whole thing right now.
What they’re doing is beside the point. Yes, it may be wrong. But this is about art. These photographs are amazing. Photographs capture life and not everyone agrees with everything around us. But just chill out and look at how beautiful these photos really are. Wrong or not.
exe- please shoot yourself in the face. That would benefit humanity more than anything you have to say. karma is going to bite you hard when you are reincarnated as a chained abused performing animal. i hope for your sake PETA rescues you. open your mind and heart before its too late.
Humans have been taking animals from the wild since we were humans. I am tired of hearing this wah wah bs. We would not be where we are today if it were not for the domestication of all these wild animals. What do you think, cows showed up one day and said “hey, may we please serve you?” Whatever…this peta bs is so 80′s. Oh…btw, I AM a biologist.
If I was a hyena, I’d rather be chained up and be fed than be starving in the wild =]
I think these are beautiful pictures in that, among the changing background of adds and people,(and “progress”), the reality of our beginning still exists in it’s painful but complete truth. This is how we started and how we will end. With other creatures among our side, on our will alone.
What we do to other creatures on this planet is less physically damaging than to our own race.
Commenting upon the morality of these photos, I feel that we of Western society are of equal blame and fault. The fact that we breed and captivate animals for domesticated purposes is of the same level of ridiculousness as the actions of these Africans. All animals should be in the wild and not controlled by others except for the guidance of their family/pack which is the same practice which we partake in as humans. All animals should be treated of equal value and the fact that these are different than what we as Westerners normally see does not constitute immorality.
all of you people are giant douches.
Those are by far the coolest pets ive seen far better that the domesticate dog. And if u thing that is awe full then do u feel the same way every time your see some one walking their dog?
No, the correct spelling is “leeches”.
Hey, I’m sure if we had baboons and hyenas running around in our backyard, we’d capture them as pets too.