Saudis warned of child-eating animal

Riyadh : Residents of a Saudi town have been warned of a strange flesh-eating animal, which attacks mostly children, a newspaper reported on Wednesday.

‘Ajel’ Arabic language daily published a picture of the animal, which it said was posted online by a group of Saudi hunters chasing the animal in the heart of the Saudi desert near the Northwestern town of Hail.

It said the animal is a hybrid of a wolf and hyena and that it has a long nose and sharp teeth, adding that the animal, named ‘Masara’ runs very fast and can jump two metres.

“It moves from one place to another very fast. It was recently spotted attacking a house near Hail. The animal is believed to prefer children’s flesh.”