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

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Regular surveys of wolves were first undertaken in <strong>the</strong> early 1980s by <strong>the</strong> <strong>Bale</strong> <strong>Mountains</strong><br />

Research Project (Hillman 1986). From 1987 to 1992, CSZ undertook detailed research <strong>on</strong><br />

Ethiopian wolves in <strong>the</strong> <strong>Bale</strong> <strong>Mountains</strong> in four study areas; namely Web Valley, Sanetti<br />

Plateau, Tullu Deemtu and Gaysay Valley (Fig. 1, Sillero-Zubiri 1994). M<strong>on</strong>itoring of wolves<br />

in <strong>the</strong>se areas has been c<strong>on</strong>tinued since 1995 up to present by <strong>the</strong> Ethiopian Wolf C<strong>on</strong>servati<strong>on</strong><br />

Programme (EWCP) and, since 2001, <strong>the</strong> EWCP has expanded <strong>the</strong> m<strong>on</strong>itoring programme to<br />

include all wolf range in <strong>the</strong> <strong>Bale</strong> massif as well as <strong>the</strong> six o<strong>the</strong>r wolf populati<strong>on</strong>s in Ethiopia<br />

(Ash 2001). The history of <strong>the</strong> EWCP m<strong>on</strong>itoring programme in <strong>Bale</strong> is described in greater<br />

detail in Marino et al. (2006).<br />

M<strong>on</strong>itoring activities c<strong>on</strong>sist primarily of total counts in focal packs. The high densities that<br />

wolves attain in many areas, <strong>the</strong>ir diurnal habits, and c<strong>on</strong>spicuous coats render <strong>the</strong>m relatively<br />

easy to find and follow <strong>on</strong> foot or horseback in <strong>the</strong> open Afroalpine landscape. Packs are<br />

identified as groups of individuals with distinct compositi<strong>on</strong>s, maintaining discrete territories that<br />

have little overlap with adjoining territories, and using exclusive dens during <strong>the</strong> breeding seas<strong>on</strong>.<br />

New packs, whe<strong>the</strong>r newly formed by pack fissi<strong>on</strong> or previously undiscovered by <strong>the</strong> EWCP, are<br />

identified by <strong>the</strong> same criteria. Territory boundaries for individual packs are determined during focal<br />

follows of regular boundary patrols, identified as such by copious scent-marking and, often, active<br />

territorial defence by individual wolves and packs. Maps of territory boundaries are <strong>the</strong>n digitized<br />

in ArcView software (Envir<strong>on</strong>mental Systems Research Institute, Redlands, California, U.S.A.) by<br />

pooling GIS data collected in <strong>the</strong> field for each pack over a given time period (typically a single<br />

breeding seas<strong>on</strong>).<br />

Individual recogniti<strong>on</strong> during <strong>the</strong> early years of <strong>the</strong> m<strong>on</strong>itoring programme was<br />

assisted by ear-tags, radio-collars, and coat patterns (Sillero-Zubiri 1994; Sillero-Zubiri and<br />

Gottelli 1994, 1995b; Sillero-Zubiri 1996). From 1996 <strong>on</strong>wards individual recogniti<strong>on</strong> was<br />

more difficult due to <strong>the</strong> absence of artificial marks (previously ear-tagged animals died or<br />

disappeared and no new animals were marked until 2003) and, more recently, a larger number<br />

of focal packs under observati<strong>on</strong>. Populati<strong>on</strong> m<strong>on</strong>itoring has thus been based <strong>on</strong> complete<br />

enumerati<strong>on</strong> of animals in focal packs (i.e. records were kept of all wolves seen around <strong>the</strong><br />

den, or during social greetings and patrols, until no new individuals were observed). Sex and<br />

age classes have been assigned to wolves according to <strong>the</strong> following categories: adults (> 2<br />

years), sub-adults or yearlings (1-2 years), and pups (0-12 m<strong>on</strong>ths), male, female, unknown<br />

(unknown age and/or sex).<br />

In additi<strong>on</strong> to <strong>the</strong> c<strong>on</strong>tinuous m<strong>on</strong>itoring of focal packs, <strong>the</strong> EWCP c<strong>on</strong>ducts m<strong>on</strong>thly transect<br />

counts in <strong>the</strong> Sanetti Plateau (since 1985) and Web Valley (since 1989) (Marino et al. 2006). From<br />

<strong>the</strong>se, indices of abundance calculated from repeated transects have been used to analyze trends<br />

in <strong>the</strong>se two subpopulati<strong>on</strong>s areas. See Marino et al. (2006) for a more detailed descripti<strong>on</strong> of this<br />

method and <strong>the</strong> results it has produced.<br />

<str<strong>on</strong>g>Walia</str<strong>on</strong>g>-<str<strong>on</strong>g>Special</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>Editi<strong>on</strong></str<strong>on</strong>g> <strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Bale</strong> <strong>Mountains</strong> 30

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