Endemic Animals

 Ethiopia is one the country where a major habitat block, having a high degree of endemicity in both fauna and flora, is contained within political boundaries. This account reviews the status and distribution of the 30 mammals which are  endemic to Ethiopia.

1. Ethiopian Red Fox

The Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis) is a canid native to the Ethiopian Highlands. It is similar to the coyote in size and build, and is distinguished by its long and narrow skull, and its red and white fur.Unlike most large canids, which are widespread, generalist feeders, the Ethiopian wolf is a highly specialised feeder of Afroalpine rodents with very specific habitat requirements.It is the world's rarest canid, and Africa's most endangered carnivore.The species' current range is limited to seven isolated mountain ranges at altitudes of 3,000–4,500m, with the overall adult population having been estimated at 360-440 specimens, more than half of which occur in the Bale Mountains.The Ethiopian wolf (red fox) is listed as Endangered by the IUCN, on account of its small numbers and fragmented range. Threats include increasing pressure from expanding human populations, resulting in habitat degredation through overgrazing and disease transference from free ranging dogs. Its conservation is headed by Oxford University's EWCP (Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Program), which seeks to protect wolves through vaccination and community outreach programs

The Ethiopian wolf is a social animal, which lives in family groups containing up to 20 individuals older than one year, though packs of six wolves are more common. Packs are formed by dispersing males and a few females which, with the exception of the breeding female, are reproductively suppressed. Each pack has a well-established hierarchy, with dominance and subordination displays being common. Upon dying, a breeding female can be replaced by a resident daughter, though this increases the risk of inbreeding. Such a risk is sometimes circumvented by multiple paternity and extra-pack matings. The dispersal of wolves from their packs is largely restricted by the scarcity of unoccupied habitatThese packs live in communal territories, which encompass 6 km2 (2.3 sq mi) of land on average. In areas with little food, the species lives in pairs, sometimes accompanied by pups, and defends larger territories averaging 13.4 km2 (5.2 sq mi). In the absence of disease, Ethiopian wolf territories are largely stable, but packs can expand whenever the opportunity arises, such as when another pack disappears. The size of each territory correlates with the abundance of rodents, the number of wolves in a pack, and the survival of pups. Ethiopian wolves rest together in the open at night, and congregate for greetings and border patrols at dawn, noon and evenings. They may shelter from rain under overhanging rocks and behind boulders. The species never sleeps in dens, and only uses them for nursing pups. When patrolling their territories, Ethiopian wolves regularly scent-mark, and interact aggressively and vocally with other packs. Such confrontations typically end with the retreat of the smaller group

 2. Walia Ibex

The Walia Ibex is the best known of Ethiopia’s endemic mammals; it serves as the emblem of the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Organisation, and provides the title of the Ethiopian Natural History Society’s journal, Walia. Unfortunately, its status as an endemic species is rather uncertain; most recent accounts refer to it as a subspecies, C. ibex walie, of the more widely distributed Alpine Ibex. It is certainly closely related to its nearest neighbour, the Nubian Ibex C. i. nubiana, which occurs about 400 km further north on the Sudan border. These two ibex differ markedly in habitat and altitude requirements, however; C. i. nubiunu occupies rocky cliffs in desert country at 200-1800 m a.s.l., while C. walie occurs on the broad ledges of the precipices in Simien, amongst Erica arborea scrub and forest at 2600-3900 m a d . There are also minor differences in horn shape (C. walie shows a modest keel along the outer curve towards the horn tip), skull shape (there is a prominent boss in the frontal region of the skull) and behaviour, although the latter may simply be adaptations to the different habitats. There are therefore some, admittedly tenuous, grounds for retaining C. 

The walia ibex (Capra walie) is a species of ibex that is endangered. It is sometimes considered a subspecies of the Alpine ibex. Threats against the species include habitat loss, poaching, and restricted range; only about 500 individuals survived in the mountains of Ethiopia, concentrated in the Semien Mountains, largely due to past poaching and habitat depletion. If the population were to increase, the surrounding mountain habitat would be sufficient enough to sustain only 2,000 ibex. The adult walia ibex's only known wild predator is the hyena. However, young ibex are often hunted by a variety of fox and cat species. The ibex are members of the goat family, and the walia ibex is the southernmost of today's ibexes. In the late 1990s the walia ibex went from endangered to critically endangered due to the declining population. The walia ibex is also known as the Abyssinian ibex

Walia ibex live in herds ranging from five to twenty animals. However the older, more mature males are often more solitary, though they will remain within a short distance of the main herd most times and during the mating season and rejoin with the herd for breeding purposes. Breeding usually takes place during late fall and early winter. The following spring, the female will give birth to one or two offspring. A herd of walia ibex was noted to travel one half of a kilometer up to two kilometers per day

3.Gelada Baboon

Gelada Baboon - is a species of old world monkey found only in the highlands of Ethiopia and Eritrea. Geladas live in small groups with one male, and several females and their offspring. Although not listed as endangered, only 50-60,000. Geladas are known to exi st. Gelada live between 2,000 and 5,000 meters in the Ethiopian Highlands, particulary Semien Mountains National Park. Glada was discovered in 1835 by the explorer Rupp ell, who named it by the local name used by inhabitants of gonder region where he first observed it. Geladas live along the edges and steeps slopes of precipices. They never eat meat, or hunt or kill even small birds or mammals. The males are being about 75 cm. (30 inches) tall without tail and twice the size of the females. Their nickname, “bleeding heart baboon” stems from the bare red skin areas on the chest, which are actually two triangles, and another crescents-shaped on the throat. The most complex in the animal kingdom after that of man. So far the gelada is not on the gelada is not on the endangered species list, and now that he lives protected in at least one of his habitats, one can hope that he never will be. How –ever, the occasional random slaughter “for fun” of these beautiful, gentle and intelligent creatures should be curbed for obvious reasons.

4. Nyala Hartebeest 

In 1891-2, Brigadier-General Swayne, who discovered the animals, was the first European to visit the area well south of the Golis range of Somaliland and about 200 kms. (125 miles) from the coast. The plains were described as "covered with hartebeest, 300-400 to a herd and a dozen or so herds in sight at any time"- Herds of a thousand individuals were observed. Within fifteen years the tens of thousands in Haud and Ogo that Swayne had seen had dwindled to such an extent that he estimated only about 880 remained.

This rapid decline was due to the rinderpest, which swept Africa during the last century. The Somalis "went out daily and pulled down the sick animals with their bare hands in order to take the hides". Military campaigns followed in which the armed forces were permitted to kill as much game as they wanted. Arms flowed in and in the unsettled conditions which prevailed hunters very efficiently, and in a very short time, had almost succeeded in wiping out the remnants of the Oryx and Hartebeest herds in the area

5. Nyala

The Mountain Nyala was the last of the great African antelopes to become known to science, and still today very little is known about its habits or the full extent of its range. It was first collected by Major Ivor Buxton in 1908 Mountain Nyala are endemic to the Ethiopian highlands southeast of the Rift Valley, between 6°N and 10°N. Their former range was from Mount Gara Muleta in the east to Shashamene and the northern Bale Zone to the south; currently, the main area of distribution is the Bale Mountains National Park. Within this range, the mountain Nyala prefer woodland, heath, and scrub at altitudes of at least 2000 metres above sea level sometimes wandering as high as 4000 meters. Mountain nyala mainly eat herbs and shrubs. Mountain nyala live in groups of about four to six animals sometimes ranging to thirteen and occasionally more, these groups are mainly females and calves often with one old male.

There are about 2,500 mountain nyala in existence, which are threatened primarily by the encroachment of too many people in their habits 

6. Menilik's Bushbuck

Belonging to the same family as the Mountain Nyala, the Kudu, the Bongo and the Eland, the bushbuck shares with them the family characteristic of shy and elusive behaviour. Over forty races of bushbuck have been identified, which vary considerably both from the point of view of colouration and from the type of habitat they frequent. Most of them are forest- living animals inhabiting dense bush, usually near water, though this is not an essential, as some of them have been known to go without drinking for long periods when necessary.

Of the two Ethiopian races, meneliki and powelli, the latter is the more common and somewhat smaller. But Menelik's is also fairly widespread and can be seen in much of Ethiopia's highland forest up to the treeline at 4,000 metres (13,000 ft.) They are com mon, for example, in the cedar forests of Menagesha and parts of the Entoto range, even ir, eucalyptus groves as long as there is still some ground cover. No accurate estimate has been made of their total population because of their nocturnal and furtive habits. Like the Mountain Nyala, they are easier to observe in the Bale Mountains National Park where they are fully protected and therefore a little less shy. Powelli inhabits the lower lying country, so between them they cover almost all types of habitat, from highland forest to savanna woodland - with the exception of open country.