Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Rakan Qadah - Ahmad Saeed Hawawreh from the town of Ba'oon in Ajloun was petrified seeing his 9-year old son's body enmeshed between the jaws of a wild hyena Friday night.

The adrenaline rush thumped the father who jumped on the hyena that had been roaming around the family's sheep farm in Ajloun governorate in northern Jordan, striking it with an axe to save his son.

The hyena let go of the young boy's body to clinch his jaw into the father's leg, until neighbors heard the noise and rushed to the rescue, striking the wild animal together until it died.

A number of residents from town confirmed that they had seen the hyena roaming around homes in Ba'oon for several nights in a row, yet it had run to disappear in the nearby woodlands before they got a chance to capture it.

Resident Salameh Oneizat said that a hyena had attacked his home several times in the past week, attempting to attack his young children playing outside.

Several nights ago, Oneizat's son managed to escape the hyena’s attack as neighbors rushed to his rescue when he started screaming. The hyena managed to escape again into the nearby woodlands, leaving more chances for other attacks in the coming nights.

Nader Qadah, a neighbor in town, confirmed that he had also seen the hyena roaming around his home at a late hour at night, yet was unable to capture the animal since he had no weapon to protect himself with.

Another resident, Ahmad Sharqi, said that residents in the town are afraid to let their kids play outside, petrified of the wave of attacks by hyenas that have surfaced suddenly in the area. Sharqi added that a number of citizens set traps to attempt to hunt the dangerous animals.

Residents are calling on concerned authorities to take their part in protecting the citizens and their farms by working to capture the hyenas, which they fear carry diseases aside from their threatening attacks.