Ethiopian Wolf

Published on Tuesday, 19 April 2011 20:17 | Written by Zoe Nichols

1ethiopian wolf

BINOMIAL NAME:

Canis Simensis

ANATOMICAL PROPORTIONS:

3.5 ft. long (tip-to-tail)/ 1.5-2 ft. high/ 24-45 lbs.

POPULATION (APPROXIMATE):

500

CONSERVATION STATUS:

ENDANGERED

DISTRIBUTION & HABITAT:

Afro-alpine grasslands, moorlands, and heathlands at 9,800 ft., in Ethiopia, Africa

DIET:

Small mammals (i.e. Ethiopian highland hare and cape hyrax), some small/ juvenile ungulates (i.e. duiker, mountain reebuck, and mountain nyala), and some birds, but mostly rodents (i.e. big-headed mole rat, East African mole rat, black-clawed brush-furred rat, Blick's grass rat, yellow-spotted brush-furred rat, and vlei rat)

SPECIES THREATS:

Habitat loss and human encroachment are major threats to the Ethiopian wolf. As more and more people settle into mountainous regions of Ethiopia, the higher in altitude, and more fractured wolf populations become.

Also a threat to the Ethiopian wolf are several canine diseases, including canine distemper and rabies. Between 1990-1991, rabies accounted for a 76% drop in Ethiopian wolf populations.

The hybridization of wolves and dogs is yet another hazard to the Ethiopian wolf---as more dogs move into their habitat (with their human companions), the more they compromise the wolfs' pure gene-pool. In fact, counting diseases and inter-breeding, it seems dogs are the most significant threat to the species.

UNIQUE FACTS:

Up until 1990, the Ethiopian wolf was known as the Simien jackal. After the advent of genetic testing, the former jackal was reassessed by scientists, who subsequently determined that it was more closely related to wolves.

Compared to all other canine species, the Ethiopian wolf lives in the highest open habitat. To be sure, open plains are not generally favored by the Canidae family, so the combination of high altitudes and wide open spaces makes its choice of range particularly unusual.

As of the most recent IUCN survey, the Ethiopian wolf is the rarest unique species of wolf on the planet.

DEVOTED ORGANIZATION:

Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme