Walia Special Edition on the Bale Mountains (2011) - Zoologische ...

Name of Order Name of Family
No of species in
the family
% of species
Family Canidae 4 5
Family Viverridae 7 9
Family Hyaenidae 1 1
Family Felidae 5 6
Order Artiodactyla Family Suidae 3 4
Family Bovidae 7 9
Order Hyracoidae Family Procaviidae 2 3
Order Lagomorpha Family Leporidae 1 1
Order Tubulidentata Family Orycteropodidae 1 1
Total Orders = 9 Total Families = 23 Total Species = 78 Total Percent = 100
Several of the endemic mammal species of the BMNP are also locally or nearly locally
endemic to the National Park itself. Five species of mammals are confined to the Bale mountains area;
namely, Crocidura harenna, C. bottegoides, Megadendromus nikolausi, Tachyoryctes macrocephalus
and Chlorocebus djamdjamensis. Five species have been reported from only a few localities outside
the BMNP; namely Crocidura glassi, C. lucina, Arvicanthis blicki, Stenocephalemys albocaudata
and Lophuromys melanonyx (Yalden 1988; Yalden and Largen 1992; see also the Appendix). Of
the six mammal genera endemic to the Ethiopian highlands, two of them, Megadendromus and
Stenocephalemys, are found in the BMNP (Williams et al. 2004).
The data presented here indicate that the mammal fauna of the BMNP is dominated by two
groups of mammal species; namely, rodents and carnivores, composed of 21 (27%) and 20 (26%)
species, respectively. Fifteen (75%) endemic species belong to two mammal groups; namely rodents
(10 species) and shrews (5 species) (see the Appendix).
Discussion
This review paper convincingly demonstrates that the BMNP is one of the most important mammal
conservation area in the Ethiopian highlands, as indicated by the high number of total mammal
species and high number of endemic species it contains. Yalden and Largen (1992) noted that the
endemic species of Ethiopia mostly belong to African groups and probably evolved within Ethiopia
(rather than being relicts who have become extinct elsewhere). The species considered to be locally
endemic to the BMNP are also assumed to have evolved in the area. In addition to its large size
and separation from the rest of Ethiopian highlands, the BMNP’s varying topography and diversity
of habitats provided the conditions necessary for evolution of distinct genus and species, and then
permitted their survival (Yalden and Largen 1992).
In view of the speed with which important habitats of the Ethiopian highlands, including
the Bale Mountains, are being destroyed by human modification and resource extraction, the study
and conservation of endemic species are matters of the greatest urgency (Yalden and Largen 1992;
Stephens et al. 2001). Among the little known small mammals of the BMNP are several species of
<strong>Walia</strong>-<strong>Special</strong> <strong>Edition</strong> on the Bale Mountains 7