I'm Gordon Buchanan, a wildlife cameraman.
Drive, drive, go, go!
I've filmed animals for 25 years,
including some of the world's most dangerous.
My hands are shaking.
But what's it like to live alongside fierce predators?
And raise your children with deadly neighbours?
So this bird has caught wolves before?
To find out, I'm going to live with three tribal families.
Not what I was expecting.
They'll show me these creatures from a new perspective.
Getting me closer to these animals than I've ever been before.
In the Solomon Islands I saw if it's possible to live with sharks.
It is spooky as hell down there.
In Mongolia, I bonded with the golden eagle.
She's not a rifle or a shotgun, but she is every bit as lethal.
And in Ethiopia, I learned to walk with Africa's hyenas.
I can hear the crunching of bones. Completely surrounded.
Spending time with these people will be a life-changing experience.
Transforming my understanding of the animals we fear most.
I'm in Ethiopia, East Africa.
It's home to over 80 different ethnic groups.
It has to be one of the most
culturally diverse places on the planet.
I'm here because of the relationship
the people of this country have with,
perhaps, one of the world's least popular animals.
A top predator that is not revered, but a top predator that is reviled.
The people of Ethiopia have a very curious relationship with hyenas.
There are said to be more hyenas here than anywhere else,
making Ethiopia the hyena capital of the world.
Its spectacular landscapes contain tens of thousands of hyenas.
But, there are also reports of these creatures invading Ethiopia's
major cities.
HYENA BARKS
DOG BARKS
Of all predators, hyenas send a shiver down my spine.
I'm going to travel across Ethiopia
to find out how people survive
alongside these formidable carnivores.
I'm starting my journey in the capital, Addis Ababa.
By day, it bustles with nearly four million people.
But at night, I've heard that hyenas prowl the streets looking for food.
I'm meeting Girum, a local hyena expert.
You must be Girum.
Yes. I'm Gordon. Nice to meet you. How are you?
Yeah, good. A busy place to meet!
Very, very busy. Let's go.
Is it always like this? Always like this.
Market is like this all the time.
Girum's taking me to Bela, on the edge of the city.
One of Addis's most notorious hyena haunts.
Of the three species of hyena, spotted hyenas are the biggest.
They are neither dogs nor cats.
Their nearest relative is actually the mongoose.
But they are far more deadly.
Weighing up to 90 kilos,
they have one of the strongest bites of any animal.
They take on prey as large as wildebeest.
They can even kill lions.
It's not surprising people fear and distrust these powerful creatures.
With a chance I'll meet one on foot, it's time for a pep talk.
So, in an hour from now, it's going to be night-time.
It's going to be dark. There's a good chance, high chance,
I could bump into hyenas, just walking down this road.
Face-to-face. I mean, if you meet a hyena face-to-face on the road.
So how do I stay safe?
How do I not get eaten?
What you have to do is face to him.
Never show your back.
OK. If you run, that will be your last.
He will attack you, definitely.
Never show him you are in fear.
You have to be smart and strong in front of him.
Just confidence and vigilance, and don't...
Don't show your fear.
Don't be scared. Yes. OK.
It's easier said than done, I think.
Night in Addis falls suddenly, around six.
I can still hear a lot of the hustle and bustle that's going on.
People wandering about.
There's still animals. I can still hear kids.
But this is when everyone is starting to go to bed,
and it's quite disconcerting, the
fact that these streets, once, sort of,
once they become quieter, that's when the hyenas will come out.
I've been told hyenas come here to scavenge and hunt, taking dogs,
donkeys and even people.
The only thing that's reassuring is
the sound blaring out of the
Orthodox Christian church. The people that live here are devout.
They have their God, but they also believe in the devil.
Girum has just told me something that is intriguing.
That is that people here believe that hyenas ward away the devil.
They keep the devil out.
That is... That's fascinating.
The relationship people here have with hyenas is complex.
As we enter a stand of trees, I'm feeling increasingly uneasy.
You still... You still feel that we're safe here?
Yes.
Then a sound comes out of the darkness.
It's a hyena.
HYENA HOWLS
In the past, when I've heard it,
I've always associated it with the dead of night.
It just comes out of nowhere.
Like it is at the moment.
HOWLING CONTINUES
Look, look.
When you move straight.
There he comes. Yes, yes. Wow. There you go.
That's amazing to see, that hyena.
I've seen hyenas before, but I've never been on foot with them.
But, yeah, I'm fearful.
Sometimes, there are... HYENA HOWLS
He's coming on this side now.
Could you hear him? Yes.
It does give me the creeps a little
bit that they can move quite silently
through the trees, and one could
sneak up on you, whatever its intent,
and you wouldn't notice it was there.
Over there, you see, he's not gone.
He's over there. Watching for us.
He don't go. Yeah.
Seeing how stealthy they are has unnerved me.
I am fundamentally scared of hyenas.
I feel I've nothing to protect myself against them.
Despite this, it is thrilling to see hyenas right on the edge of Addis.
The hyenas melt away through the trees and into the night.
Off it goes.
It's intriguing that people tolerate such a powerful predator so close to
the city.
But, I'd also like to learn about them in the wild.
For now, I'm leaving these urban hyenas behind.
I'm on my way to the remotest part of Ethiopia.
The south Omo Valley is home to many extraordinary peoples.
One of the least known are the Bodi.
Their cattle herding culture stretches back thousands of years.
And they live with their cattle in prime hyena country.
Just about every negative character trait you could come up with we've
attributed to the hyena.
They're dirty, they're smelly, they're scavengers,
there are not to be trusted.
What I want to do is try and unravel the truth about these animals,
and I want to do that by spending
the next two weeks with the people that should know them best.
People that have coexisted, somehow, with these predators for as long
back in time as they were both here.
I've got a little group of people sitting under the tree,
I presume that's my welcoming party.
Hello.
The Bodi number around 8,000 people.
They are famous for their distinctive hairstyles
and decorative body scars.
I'm Gordon.
Nice to meet you, I'm Gordon.
I've come to meet the people.
Baradi is a spiritual leader and elder.
As the owner of many cattle, he's
had his share of run-ins with hyenas.
I'm keen to find out what he and his people think of them.
You don't seem to like hyenas.
I don't know how to respond.
It's troubling to hear how seriously these people suffer
from hyena attacks.
While I'm here, I'm going to be staying with Bibani.
She's offered to teach me how the Bodi survive in this
hostile environment.
On our way to her village, we make a detour.
Bibani has four children and 45 cattle to look after.
It's OK. It's OK.
Bibani says the rains have just started.
In Bodi country, this is the peak period for hyena attacks.
So will I hear them tonight?
BIBANI IMITATES A HYENA
This is the call I heard in Addis.
The rallying cry for the hyena clan.
They're clearly living nearby.
An hour's walk from the river, we get to Bibani's village.
With a couple of dozen thatched huts,
it's home to around 80 people,
and their livestock.
I was wondering what they were doing.
I thought they were running like hyenas,
and that would be too much of a coincidence,
but that is exactly what they are doing.
Without a doubt, this is a very wild part of Africa.
For these kids, that size,
this is not a place where you want to be wandering free, certainly,
on your own.
That's impressive. That's good.
Good hyena action.
Baradi is an authority on all things Bodi.
He's offered to take me to the hyenas' lair, their den.
The Bodi usually visit dens if they want to destroy them.
But Baradi has agreed just to show me what one looks like.
Two hours walk from the village, we come to a densely forested area.
Baradi's tracking skills lead us to some paw prints.
You can see the front foot here,
the pad and toes.
There's another one here.
It's walking in this direction.
As we make our way in,
I wonder what would happen if we bumped into a hyena.
On my hands and knees here.
I might be able to stand up a bit.
Wow. It's a great site.
Baradi thinks this den is used by a clan of around 15 hyenas.
At this time of day, some of them could be resting underground.
Asleep?
Baradi is saying he can see a little scrape here,
where the hyena has been sleeping.
It heard us as we walked in,
and then it just disappeared away.
It would be impossible, really
impossible, to sit and watch
the hyenas, it's just way too thick.
The Bodi mostly destroy dens in reprisal for attacks.
Today, they are leaving them be.
They seemed to almost respect their enemy.
Perhaps this is why hyenas still survive here.
In other parts of the world people have wiped out hyenas.
But where they still persist they are tough, resilient and adaptable.
Spotted hyenas live in clans
dominated by large, aggressive females.
Their powerful jaws can crack even the biggest bones of their prey,
allowing them to get at nutritious marrow.
The resulting rich milk allows her cubs to develop their own
bone-crunching teeth and jaws.
In Bodi country, cattle have replaced much of the local wildlife.
So hyenas have little choice but to prey on livestock.
At dusk, the cattle come in.
Bibani's sons have been guarding them all day, but at night,
when hyenas are most likely to attack,
they need the protection of the corral.
Is this your house?
I like it.
Bibani will sleep inside her house,
but with her livestock within earshot.
Bibani picks out a cow skin, my bed for the night.
Very nice. It matches my hair.
In Bodi culture, taking a stranger by the hand is normal.
Bibani takes me to the centre of the village,
where the men lie out all night... on hyena watch.
Thank you, Bibani.
My bed for the night.
Yeah, great.
It's worrying to sleep out in the open.
Quite a lot of noise.
It's not exactly quiet.
And my bedfellow here,
we're getting on just fine.
I think we'll be very happy together.
It's nine o'clock at night.
That was the time that Bibani said hyenas might come prowling around.
THUNDER ROLLS
ROOSTER CROWS
Next morning, the villagers are up at dawn.
It sounds like I missed some hyena activity overnight,
as Bibani's daughter explains.
SHE IMITATES A HYENA
There were hyena close to the village last night.
Shamefully, I didn't hear a thing.
SHE IMITATES A HYENA
All her cows are safe, but Bibani isn't happy.
I offered to help reinforce her thorn fence.
Baradi's daughter, Choma, comes
along to make sure I do a good job.
Timber!
Lower this side?
Hyenas are highly intelligent.
They will exploit any weak spots.
Yeah?
I'm hoping Bibani will approve too.
It's good?
With the compound secure, Bibani seems more relaxed.
But it seems she still thinks I've got a lot to learn.
She's giving me a new and unexpected responsibility.
Why has this one got a rope on it?
Really? This one? I like it, thank you.
Having my own bullock to look after is a huge honour.
This Bodi naming ritual starts with milk being spat all over my face.
Onyabassa.
HE REPEATS AFTER HER
I share the name with the cow.
I'm no longer Gordon, I am Onyabassa.
With the ceremony over, I'm told to bond with my bullock as the Bodi do.
That's still warm.
The Bodi rub their favourite cows and bulls with fresh dung
as decoration.
Yeah? Is that good?
Ash works like a sunscreen and
prevents infection from cuts and grazes.
The biggest, most important role for me is to keep this bullock safe from
hyenas. I'm realising that I'm up against quite an adversary.
Hyenas, I've seen them in action before
and, as strong as Onyabassa is, he's no match for a hyena.
They are... Yeah, incredibly strong.
They are persistent, they are
tenacious, and they know what they're after.
And an area like this, this is just, this is perfect.
A little cow like this, that's their dinner.
We may now share the same name...
Come on, Onyabassa. ..but I've got a lot to learn if I'm going to keep
Onyabassa safe.
He is very strong.
He's stolen my cow!
With a bullock of my own to look after,
I'm keen to hear from Baradi and an elder,
just what hyenas are capable of.
That song, it's a nod towards the behaviour of a hyena.
They can go here, they can go there, they can take and take and take.
Hyena and Bodi have been enemies for a long time.
Do you think that's going to be the same into the future?
It's interesting to hear back that a time before
the Bodi raised cattle, hyenas and people were friends.
That's true of hunter-gatherer societies in the past,
hunter-gatherer societies that exist now.
They can coexist with big predators, because there's no real conflict.
The conflict only really comes when we start animal husbandry,
when we start keeping animals,
the types of animals that predators will go for.
That's how this story that's still playing out today,
that's when it really started.
The Bodi's war with hyenas looks set to run and run.
His stories help to dispel their reputation as scavengers.
70% of hyenas' food comes from kills they make themselves.
When it comes to hunting, hyenas are more successful than lions.
An adult can bring down prey over three times its size,
and travel up to 80km a day in search of food.
Hyenas attack large animals by biting their vulnerable underbelly.
A cow has little chance against a predator like this.
That's what we've been waiting for. Waiting for the cows to come home.
It's just central to this way of life, cattle are everything.
Cattle are the Bodi's only wealth.
Used as payment in marriage, and as collateral for loans.
Everything that comes out of a cow finds a use.
We've got a calf, fairly small calf,
so I think this is the one we're going to milk.
Or we can wash our hands.
Cow's urine has antibacterial properties,
so it makes sense to use it for washing
where water is so scarce.
Every time I go close to the cow, it's getting a bit spooked
and moving away.
Is that part of the...
..the soothing, calming process?
Just rubbing its bum?
I get rubbing its side, that's quite soothing.
That's how I'd sooth a cow.
I think rubbing its bum, more specifically, its bum hole,
I'm surprised.
Bibani takes a handful of milk for an important ritual.
Thank you.
Her superstition reminds me that for
the Bodi hyenas are a threat not just to their cattle,
but to their way of life.
It looks like I've made a mistake,
I should have got the two-man cow skin.
I'm back on guard duty.
This time, I'm determined to stay awake.
Ten past midnight.
I haven't heard anything that resembles a hyena.
But the weather has other plans.
I just felt the first spots of rain.
It might blow over.
THUNDER RUMBLES
But if it does actually rain properly, I'm going to have to
seek shelter inside.
OK.
Trying to find shelter,
assisted by my companion,
who is now naked, by the way.
As I abandon my watch, I hope the hyenas stay away.
Next morning, there's bad news.
Baradi is taking me to a village
where we've got a report that a cow had been attacked by a hyena.
On the edge of the village we see evidence of hyena kills.
Around here there's bones strewn all over the place.
Look at this.
That's been split open.
It's a hyena that would do that.
Just one bite can burst that open
and they can get to the marrow inside.
It's not even strong enough to stand up. What a shame.
That is rock solid.
There's infection in there.
Just because this cow managed to escape from the hyenas,
it doesn't mean to say that it's going to live.
It's tragic to see first-hand the suffering hyenas can cause.
Though you don't see them every day, you might not hear them,
but they are always there.
The threat is always out there.
And attacks from hyenas will always continue.
I'm trying to see it from both sides.
From the hyena's side, from the people's side, but at the moment,
I'm definitely on this side of
the thorn fence. I'm with the cattle, with the people.
Despite the brutality of the attack,
I'm still impressed by the hyena's tenacity.
The Bodi are keen to show me how they take revenge.
There seems to be a bit of a path coming through here,
just leading up from the river.
If I was looking for any animal, if I was looking for a hyena,
this is where I'd start.
With an automatic rifle, Baradi sets to work.
Oh, God.
As a form of retaliation, it's shocking.
There's a stick gone through the trigger mechanism.
OK. You do it, I don't want to do it.
You do it.
The gun is just suspended in the branches, so when the hyena comes,
goes for the meat and pulls it, it basically
just pulls the whole gun forward, pushing the trigger back,
and it will be shot.
No, no, I haven't seen this.
I can't judge at all.
I don't blame these men for feeling this way.
I don't blame them for wanting to kill hyenas,
given the hyenas are trying to kill their cattle.
The hyenas, they came looking for trouble,
and they are going to find trouble themselves right here.
The men camouflage the gun to increase the chance of success.
The one saving grace is that
if it goes for it, it won't know anything about it,
it will be dead instantly.
Baradi wants me to witness the Bodi's most important ceremony,
the Ka'el ritual.
Each year, during the rain season, the Bodi let blood from the necks of
their beloved cows. Amazingly, it doesn't seem to hurt them.
It's remarkable, how little it seems to affect the cow.
This is something they'll be used to.
It's quite congealed. So he's going to drink the whole thing?
This bingeing on blood continues for three months
as men race to pile on the pounds.
Communities gather in a unique competition at which Bodi women can
assess potential husbands.
The fattest and best dancers are considered the most eligible.
Now it's my turn to try.
It's good. It's actually very nice.
Can I have a bit more?
I need to be strong!
It's actually...
..genuinely, a strong flavour, but warm and pretty delicious.
Baradi smears ash on my face to clean it.
I don't want to be any fatter. I want to be stronger.
Where we come from, we have cows, we keep them for their beef,
we keep them for their milk.
Morally, you know,
it's better to take the blood from them rather than killing the entire
animal. It's just that in our culture,
it's something, kind of, weird and peculiar.
But it actually makes complete sense. It's sustainable.
And it's good for you.
I can't quite believe that my time here is about to end.
During my time with the Bodi I've learned how resourceful and clever
hyenas are.
I've also been surprised by how the Bodi feel about their enemy.
A big step in my learning is that the people that actually do live
alongside hyenas maybe do know them best.
Not once has there been any mention
of those pretty unpleasant things that people say about hyenas.
There just seems to be a little bit of respect for them.
You have to have a lot of respect for an animal
that can outsmart a human being.
It's time to say goodbye to Onyabassa.
Thank you.
Like the Bodi, I'm smearing myself with the dung of my favourite bull.
I hope he, and the Bodi's other
cattle can stay safe from the hyenas.
This is maybe the last time I'll ever have a chance to witness this
way of life, because it's very precious.
I didn't realise that, genuinely, people live like this any more.
Maybe it's just the nobility of the people,
that's what I'll take away.
OK.
Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Now I'm travelling to Harar,
a city with the most radical view of hyenas anywhere in the world.
Harar is a medieval walled city with a remarkable tradition.
Here, people have lived alongside hyenas for centuries.
I've heard it's home to hundreds of them.
As a rule, if you want to find wild animals, you go to a wild place.
And the Omo Valley,
from where I've just come, is one of the wildest places I've ever been.
And it's strange and frustrating to spend time in a place where not an
hour goes by that people aren't talking about hyenas.
They come up all of the time.
They dictate a big part of life there,
but I've left without seeing one.
So to increase my chances of
actually meeting the monster face-to-face,
I've come to the most unlikely of places.
In contrast to Addis Ababa,
the people of Harar don't just put up with hyenas,
I've heard they're actively encouraged.
Apparently, one of the best places to find them is the graveyard.
If anyone should know, the gravedigger should.
Is that your dog?
Yahuah has been digging graves here for ten years.
So what are the hyenas doing in the graveyard?
So do you think that I need to be
afraid of them if I'm wanting to see them?
At nine o'clock, I returned to the graveyard.
I thought the forest on the edge of Addis Ababa was creepy
but this is a whole new level.
HYENA HOWLS
I've set up a thermal camera to try to film the hyenas.
It soon reveals tantalising glimpses.
This is the closest I've been to hyenas on this trip.
But I can't see through the undergrowth.
Against Yahuah's advice, I'm going to walk in.
I'm taking a small night-vision camera and a head torch.
The crew stay behind on a thermal camera to keep an eye on me.
It is the most unlikely place I've ever looked for a wild animal.
HYENA HOWLS
Very weird.
With the sound of church prayers drifting up from the city, it's hard
to get my bearings.
There's a bit of a path here.
I want to follow that, but it doesn't look like a human path.
OK.
And then, at the end of the path, I meet not just one hyena...
Oh, my God, look.
There's a whole gang of them, just metres away.
In a clearing between the gravestones,
they're feasting on something.
They've got me surrounded.
You can see their eyes glowing in the dark.
You can hear the crunching of bones right in front of me.
Then I see some animal remains.
I crapped myself then, a big skull lying on the ground.
I'm incredibly relieved to see it's a cow's skull.
Maybe they aren't robbing graves.
HYENA HOWLS
But they are looking increasingly bold.
It's time for me to go.
Where the hell am I?
OK.
I think I'm in the clear...
..for now.
Seeing hyenas in this context,
it's very easy to buy into the myth of the monster.
I think any animal that lives in a graveyard is...
It's quite peculiar by circumstance.
I'm glad that I came looking for them,
but I'm very, very, very glad to be out of there.
HE EXHALES
I found the hyenas of Harar.
And the stories of them being
graverobbers seem to be an urban myth.
But I'm left wondering why there are so many here.
Next morning, I want to discover more about Harar's hyenas.
I'm meeting a man at the heart of this city's hyena culture.
Yusuf, from the Oromia tribe.
Hello?
Hello? Hello, Yusuf.
I'm Gordon.
Oh, my goodness. Look at this.
Hello there. I was not expecting that!
You come to meet a man to talk about hyenas,
not expecting to actually meet one in the flesh.
Yusuf is rehabilitating this orphaned hyena cub.
So tell me about your relationship with hyenas.
When did that start?
Yusuf's father started feeding wild hyenas
as a way to prevent them from preying on his livestock.
Other people were feeding them too.
It's now become a city tradition.
I want to know if Yusuf thinks people are at risk from hyenas here.
Yusuf's affection for hyenas is deeply moving.
I'm inspired by his ease around them.
YUSUF WHISTLES
Yusuf's family continue the tradition to this day.
Every night, outside the city walls, Yusuf's son, Abbas,
feeds wild hyenas.
Visitors flock to see it.
It's an opportunity for me to learn how to build trust
with these predators.
Unlike Yusuf's rescue hyena cub, these ones are fully grown.
I just counted 12, and in the middle of the 12 hyenas...
..is one man.
ABBAS WHISTLES AND VOCALISES
This... This is bizarre.
He's given each animal a name.
It's like they are, kind of, street cats.
It's a really surprising view of a hyena.
Abbas says they sense my fear.
He wants me to sit down.
I think getting down on their level is something that makes me even
more nervous.
I'm very aware that my toes, in these sandals,
look like sausages.
Hello.
God Almighty.
HYENA BARKS
I think any predator of this size, you realise how...
How big they are, how powerful they are.
Abbas whistles to them all the time.
And they seem to understand him perfectly.
Their famous laugh is more about food than fun,
expressing submissiveness at mealtimes.
HYENAS LAUGH
They are obviously highly adaptable...
..and, I suppose, to become accustomed to human beings,
you've got to be adaptable.
I think that maybe says a lot about them as an animal
because not every big predator is like that.
People say that hyenas are cowardly.
No cowardly animal would do this.
I think it shows quite an extraordinary amount of bravery
to, kind of, overcome their natural fears of human beings.
This incredible encounter is showing me the other face of the killer.
I'm learning from Abbas that, treated with kindness,
it's possible to form a trusting relationship with hyenas.
Having discovered they have a softer, sensitive side,
I want to see if I can truly get to know the graveyard hyenas.
HE WHISTLES
Will whistling work for me?
HE WHISTLES
At first, they're timid.
But a few bones I've been given draw them out.
Yusuf told me this is how his family has gained their trust.
I'm astonished to see how quickly they learn
I'm not there to harm them.
To hear the way it's crunching on those bones...
..it's like it was a crisp!
See the way that both of them are looking at every single move that I
make? They are hyper aware.
They are quite shy.
There's one just...
I was going to say skulking, but it's not skulking at all.
Skulking is one of those words that we just apply to hyenas.
They don't skulk, they are very timid creatures.
They're actually an incredibly beautiful animal.
Two nights ago, I was surrounded by these very hyenas
and terrified.
But now I've got over my fear
and I'm completely comfortable with them.
Then I get a glimpse of a cub.
It can't be more than a few months old.
They must have a den here.
It's quite an irony that I've found
these hyenas amongst the gravestones.
These hyenas aren't here to feast on the deceased,
they live here, this graveyard is their home.
It's the only peace and quiet they can find in this busy city in which
they live.
My trip to Harar has shown me that people and hyenas
can live together in peace.
I would love to know what my Bodi friends would make of this.
Now, I've got a chance to explore that.
I've sent word to the village and Baradi and his daughter, Choma,
are coming to join me.
They've heard about Harar,
and are curious to know what the hyenas here are like.
This is the first time the Bodi will have ever been
face-to-face with potentially friendly hyenas.
There.
I think there are six.
Have you ever seen a hyena as close as this before?
Where you come from, people and hyenas are enemies.
But here, some people in Harar say that hyenas are their friends.
What do you think, Choma, are you afraid?
I think they're beautiful.
They've got quite a round head, their eyes are nice and dark.
Big ears.
Just like a baby.
I think we'll have to agree to disagree.
Even if we can't agree on its looks,
I get a sense that Baradi and Choma are mellowing.
Baradi's changing view of this lifelong enemy is surprising.
If the circumstances were right,
perhaps even the Bodi could forge a new relationship with hyenas.
My time in Ethiopia is over.
The people of this incredible country have a lesson, perhaps,
for the entire world.
They've shown me there is much more to hyenas than meets the eye.
Humans can live alongside the creatures we fear...
..if only we take the time to understand them.
I always say we should
be open-minded. I think, in the case of the hyena,
we are everything but open-minded.
We're opinionated, we jump to conclusions.
We've made up a lot of things about hyenas.
Almost, the more time I spend with
them, the more I find out about them,
the more fascinated by them I become.
They are definitely strange, they're unusual.
But that doesn't make them bad. It certainly doesn't make them evil.
They're not dirty, smelly,
they're not scavengers out to ruin people's lives.
They're not graverobbing maniacs.
Maybe a perfect example of not
judging anything, or anyone by reputation.