Category Archives: Etiòpia

New Gallery: Ethiopia

You can now visit the Ethiopia Gallery, where you’ll find species as emblematic as the Ethiopian Wolf, which I already wrote a post of it, or the Gelada Baboon, both endemic of this country.

We visited the following places during our travel:

  • Awash NP, where we found a big number of birds. I would like to highlight the Beisa Oryx among the mammals.

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  • Bale Mountains NP, where we visited three areas: Gasay, Saneti Plateau and Harena Forest where we were able to see the Mountain Nyala, the Ethiopian Wolf and the Bale Monkey, respectively.

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  • Wondo Genet, a good place to see birds. White-cheeked Turaco and Silvery-cheeked Hornbill were the most spectacular among them.
  • Abiyata-Shala NP, where there are different Hornbill species.
  • Bishangari Lodge. Difficult access, close to Langano Lake, it’s surrounded by life and nature. A Fish Eagle is around there, but unfortunately we were not able to take a picture of it.
  • Lake Zeway. There is a fishermen harbor, and there are lots of Pelican, Marabou Stork and other water birds. Lake Koka, near there, is also full of water birds.

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  • Debre Libanos. On the way to the monastery there is a group of Gelada Baboons. It was so difficult to get close because people (adults and children) throw stones to them so the Geladas are so distrustful.
  • Lake Tana. There are some isles with temples, but it is not allowed for the women to access them, so we visited an orthodox church at the other side of the lake. The paints are impressive. See this Saint George with his dragon…

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  • Gondar. We visited a church and the castle.
  • Simien Mountains, the last spot of our itinerary, where we saw the Gelada Baboons, which are bigger and furrier than the ones at Debre Libanos, and much more trusting than them; as it is a Natural Park, nobody disturbs them. Other species to highlight are the Lammergeier and the Capra Ibex.

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The travel took place during September, the end of the rainy season. This is the reason why we mainly found an intense green landscape, so different from the image I had from Ethiopia.

I wish that the photos show the biodiversity of the country, and that you like them.

 

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Ethiopia… Comming soon!!!

Dear all,

As some of you already know, last september I travelled to Ethiopia.

Due to several reasons (professional, personal and technical ones) the gallery with the photos is still on the way… but it will come soon, so soon… in fact, I already did the photo selection and I am preparing them to be uploaded to the website soon.

tic, tac, tic, tac…

In the meantime, enjoy this small present: a Gelada Baboon from the Simien Mountains!!!

… see you soon!!!

 

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Endangered Species: Ethiopian Wolf (Canis simensis)

The Ethiopian Wolf (Canis simensis) is the only wolf species to be found in Africa. Endemic to the Ethiopian mountains between 3200 and 4500 metres above see level it is the most threatened canid in the world.

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Despite of the fact that it is closer to the grey wolf, it is more similar to a coyote in shape and size and has long legs and elongated muzzle. The Ethiopian Wolf has a reddish coat, distinctive white markings throughout the body and black markings on the tail. Males are 20% larger than females.

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They live in groups between 3 and 13 adults, but they tend to forage alone. Their diet is mainly based on the giant mole-rat (Tachyoryctes macrocephalus) and other species of grass rats.

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At present, the largest population (about 50% of the total) is found in the Bale Mountains National Park, where they locate in two areas: Web Valley and Sanetti Plateau.

The Ethiopian Wolf is listed as “Endangered” by the IUCN Red List:

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Natural causes of mortality include predation of young by spotted hyenas or raptors, starvation in juveniles, pathogens and parasites such as rabies, and human causes.

Population decline is a result of many factors: continuous loss of habitat due to agriculture, traffic incidents and shootings, hybridization with domestic dogs, and disease.

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Conservation efforts include vaccination of both domestic dogs and wild wolves from rabies, sterilization of domestic dogs and hybrids and education about the Ethiopian wolwes, among others.

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Endangered Species: The Bale Mountains Monkey (Chlorocebus djamdjamensis)

The Bale Mountains Monkey (Chlorocebus djamdjamensis), discovered in 1902, is one of Africa’s least known primates. As other vervet species, they are sexually dimorphic, being the males slightly larger than the females and having brightly coloured genitals.

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They are diurnal and spend most of their time feeding. Their diet is mainly based on African montane or highland bamboo (Arundinaria alpina) on the wet season (77% of their diet), they also eat some fruits on the dry season. Flowers and insects are included in their diet.

Endemic to the Bale Mountains of Ethiopia, appear to almost exclusively inhabit bamboo forests, being found at high elevations of up to 3,000 meters.

The Bale Mountains Monkey is listed as “Vulnerable” by the IUCN Red List, and is listed on Appendix II of CITES.

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The Bale Mountains Monkey is most threatened by habitat loss: ever increasing human populations in Ethiopia, conversión of land for agriculture, forest fires and logging are all reducing the available bamboo forests on which they depend.

The future survival of the Bale Mountains vervet depends on effective management and conservation of the bamboo forests in which it occurs.

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