Wildlife and Ecotourism Management

The ecosystem of the Alatish National Park is an Ecotone between the Afromontane Region in Ethiopia and the Sudan-Guinea Savanna Region of Tropical Biome. The biological attribute of the park where the country opt to manage the resource sustainably are thought to be unique. However, the sustainability of its biological resources has faced profound threats. The aim of this study was to identify the threats of habitat loss and evaluate their effect on land cover change in the park. The result showed that fire induced by humans was the major threat of habitat loss. The nomads who intruded into the park from the Sudan side were not easily controlled by the Park scouts. The land cover change analysis revealed that woodland habitat of the Park was altered significantly. The land cover of the Park in 1999 showed that deciduous type of woodland was 46.55%, but it was reduced to 19.8% in 2013. On the contrary, wooded grassland habitat was increased from 35.4% to 64.5% of the land cover in 1999 and 2013, respectively. This indicates that threats of habitat loss remain unsolved after the establishment of Park. Therefore, urgent interventions by the federal government and international conservation foundations should be mandated to support the management effectiveness of the park office. These would enable the park office to control major conservation threats through the Ethio-Sudan Transboundary National Park collaboration and implementation of management strategies.

A preliminary survey conducted in Benishangul-Gumuz Region, Bambesi· Woreda from late January to early February, 2010 resulted in finding two grc.>upsof the same taxon of patas monkeys. Each of the two groups had one adult male, ana one of them consisted of 33 individuals, where as the other had a total of 23 individuals including The adult males, adult and sub-adult fe,males and infants. The survey was conducted on foot and by a vehicle and behavioural data were collected using adlibtum method. From the structure of the two groups and the season during which they probably had their newborns, they belong to the species. Erythrocebus patas which are also found elsewhere. However, the long black fur coloration along the shoulder, back and upper fore limbs of the males is different from any o(the four ·different subspecies, namely, E. patas patas, E: patas villiersi, E.patas pyrrhonotus and E. tNltas baumstarki, arid others found in Athi plains, southeast of Nairobi and east of the rift valley, which have pink f<;tces and a blue nasal spot and not given subspecific names. Thus, it is reasonabl~ to think of the Benishangul patas as subspecies, as they are distinct from the other subspecies.

Ethiopian highlands are the center of endemism for fauna including birds. However, due to poor management practice, the habitats of animals have been encroached on from time to time. The main objective of this study was to assess the diversity, abundance, and distribution of birds in the Guna Mountain Community Conservation Area. The study was conducted from August 2019 to April 2020, in wet and dry seasons. A stratified random sampling design was used to classify habitats based on vegetation type. The habitat types were: Erica moorland, Guassa grassland, and Rocky with lobelia. Point transects count method for Erica moorland, but line transects method for both Guassa grasslands and Rocky with lobelia habitats were employed. Data were collected in the morning (6:00-10:00 A.M.) and late afternoon (4:00-6:00 P.M.). A Chi-square test was used to test the distribution of birds among the three habitats and the difference in the abundance of birds between wet and dry seasons. A total of 76 bird species that belong to 12 orders and 35 families were identified. Four species are endemic to Ethiopia, and nine were endemic both to Ethiopia and Eritrea. Five species were Inter African migrants, 18 highland biome species, and two Palearctic migrant bird species were identified. The Passeriformes were the most dominant order with 44 species and account for 58%, whereas Galliformes, Cuculiformes, Apodiformes, and Strigiformes were the least represented orders that have only one species each. Relatively, high diversity of bird species was observed in the grassland habitat (Hˈ =3.67) but the lowest species diversity was observed in the Rocky with lobelia habitat (Hˈ=2.6). The highest evenness was recorded in the rocky with lobelia habitat (E = 0.88), whereas the lowest evenness was recorded in Erica moorland (E = 0.79). The species abundance of birds during the wet and dry seasons was significantly different (χ2 = 904.541, DF =1, p<0.001). There were also significant differences in the distribution of birds among the three habitats (χ2 = 3315.965, DF =75, p<0.001). Food availability, vegetation composition, and breeding sites have affected the variety of birds' abundance in different habitats. It has been seen that habitat size, foraging modes, and floristic composition influenced the distribution of birds. Grassland and highland biome restricted birds may be affected as they do not have any alternative foraging or breeding sites if the Guna Mountains Conservation Area habitat fragmentation continues. The area supports a variety of avian species with high endemics and habitat specifics. Conservation of the area is vital for habitat restricted and endemic birds.

Keywords: Afro-alpine, Bird species diversity, Endemic birds, Guna Community Conservation Area

This baseline study was conducted in and around Simien Mountains National Park (SMNP), Ethiopia, with the objective of investigating the population status of the Hamadryas baboon. While Hamadryas baboon populations have been extensively studied in Africa, no such study has been carried out in this extreme southwest area of their range. Within the SMNP, the Hamadryas baboon is primarily found in the southwestern, northern and eastern parts of the park. The total population was estimated using the total count method at three counting sites. Within those three sites ~495 individual Hamadryas baboons were found. The population comprised ~190 adults, 150 sub-adults, 133 juveniles, and 22 infants of indeterminate age. The study was completed in both the dry and the wet season and showed no significant change in the population or population dynamics seasonally, suggesting that the members of this resident population are the primary occupants of these locations. The age and gender diversity results indicated that there were approximately 72 adult males and 117 adult females, together with 63 sub-adult males and 87 sub-adult females, 54 male and 80 female juveniles, and 22 infants during the wet season. The Hamadryas baboon's overall sex ratio was 1:1.65 males to females for adults, 1:1.36 for sub-adults and 1:1.46 for juveniles. This study can serve as a benchmark for tracking the population status over time and rank their conservation status in this extreme southwestern range for this species.