This kind of thing can happen at any camp. I've experienced hyenas sneaking up from behind many times. http://tinyurl.com/27hpw3

Oh my goodness, how terrible.
Thankfully the dad had his own vehicle; at that hour it can be difficult to get anyone to these remote areas.

Her father sounds like one remarkable guy!! Such sound, well reasoned thoughts and actions in the midst of almost losing his cherished loved one.

Wow...so much for the animals being more afraid of us. ;-)

Good to read that she's "ok" albeit somewhat battered and, I'm sure, shaken.

The silver lining - that's one helluva story she can tell for many years to come. Talk about a WOW factor.

There was a series of attacks at the campground at Sossusvlei in 2003 if I remember correctly. One man had a serious injury. A piece of his skull was pushed into his brain requiring surgery. He recovered. Hyena was shot soon after his attack and there have been no incidents since as far as I know.

hello
my husband and I at times felt quite foolish being as busy as we were about being above ground and being safe and noises behind us, and when we were confronted by hyenas we went up our ladder to our tent quicker than a ferret up a Northern (british isles) trouser leg - etc. Now i've read this, I don't feel quite so daft. I really hope she'll be OK and one day come back to Africa.
WD

She lives in Johannesburg.

I'm surprised the bonfire didn't keep the hyena away. The last line of the story was the most chilling.

Amazing, but this is the hyena that bit the child. Photo by an Italian who was camping at 3rd bridge at the time.

http://tinyurl.com/2vqd77

I'm just glad she will be ok. You're right Clematis. The other incident, mentioned at the end, is even worse.