Residents of the Serrekunda suburb of Fajikunda and its vicinity have been shaken by the scary appearance of a hyena which apparently escaped from the Abuko Nature Reserve - 3km away from the suburb.

The sudden appearance of the hyena sent residents scuttling for safety as the beast was seemingly targeting passers-by in the streets.

As the news of the monstrous hyena spread, our reporter visited the scene and quizzed some eyewitnesses about what had happened.

Na-Amie Sawaneh, a resident of Fajukunda, said she was shocked upon seeing the hyena and wondered how the beast had conspicuously entered their area. She said the hyena would have harmed people if it were not for the decisive intervention of the men.
"I was in our compound when I heard people screaming. I rushed out and saw many people running in panic. It was running after people," Ms Sawaneh told the Daily Observer.

After nearly an hour of pandemonium, Ms Sawaneh added, the hyena was captured with a fishing net that restraint it, before it was taken back to the nature reserve.

Ousman Sanneh, one of the captors of the hyena, attributed the escape of the hyena to poor security at the nature reserve and urged people to be on the alert at all times.
Another eyewitness, Dado Sonko, observed that the reoccurrence of such an incidence should be avoided at all cost as it puts so many lives at risk.

"If it were not for God's intervention, a lot of people would have been bitten by the hyena or even killed," she said.