FACTORS AFFECTING THE LARGE MAMMALS IN BALE MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK SOUTHEASTERN ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Large mammals, both wild and domestic, were censused in in four study areas in Bale Mountains National park (BMNP), southern Ethiopia, from April until August 1997, using established road counts and systematic transects, a new approach to censuring large mammalsin BMNP. Data collected since 1983 were also examined to indicate trends in mammalianabundance. Civil unrest following the government change over in 1991 disrupted management ofBMNP, leading to an increase in human settlement and livestock densities. The ef ect of thesefactors on BMNPs wildlife is assessed and discussed. Most large mammalian wildlife hasdeclined since 1983 but signs of recovery for some species in recent years are positive. The fatesof two charismatic endemics are emphasized. BMNPs current population of mountain Nyala(Tragelaphus buxtoni, an endangered antelope) was estimated to be between 1100 and 1300. This is lower than estimates for the late 1980s, but shows an increase from very low levels recorded following social turmoil during the government changeover in 1991. Data on the Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis, a critically endangered canid) also indicate positive trends in abundance, following severe declines between 1989 and 1992 due to rabies epizootics. Action to reduce human utilization of parts of BMNP is urgently required to prevent further degradation of the environment and to safeguard the future of both the mountain Nyala and Ethiopian wol