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

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Populati<strong>on</strong> Estimates and Diet of Stark’s Hare (Lepus starcki Petter, 1963) in <strong>the</strong> <strong>Bale</strong><br />

<strong>Mountains</strong> Nati<strong>on</strong>al Park, Ethiopia<br />

Tariku Mek<strong>on</strong>nen 1* , Afework Bekele 1 and James Malcolm 2<br />

1 Department of Biology, Addis Ababa University, PO.Box 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.<br />

2 Department of Biology, University of Redlands, Redlands CA 92373, USA<br />

* Email: tmgutema@yahoo.com<br />

Abstract<br />

The populati<strong>on</strong> status and diet of Starck’s hare Lepus starcki Petter, 1963 was investigated in <strong>the</strong> <strong>Bale</strong><br />

<strong>Mountains</strong> Nati<strong>on</strong>al Park from June-September (wet seas<strong>on</strong>) and December-January (dry seas<strong>on</strong>)<br />

in 2006/2007. Populati<strong>on</strong> surveys were carried out using distance sampling. The ‘line intercept’<br />

method was used to estimate <strong>the</strong> coverage of vegetati<strong>on</strong> in <strong>the</strong> study area. Diet was identified by<br />

analyzing faecal pellets and direct observati<strong>on</strong>.<br />

The density of Starck’s hare was estimated to be 18.35 per km2 during <strong>the</strong> wet seas<strong>on</strong> (with<br />

95% c<strong>on</strong>fidence interval 12.47-26.99) and it was 13.33 per km2 (95% CI 9.17-19.39) during <strong>the</strong> dry<br />

seas<strong>on</strong>. The populati<strong>on</strong> in <strong>the</strong> study area was estimated to be 6300 during <strong>the</strong> wet seas<strong>on</strong> (95% CI<br />

4300-9200) and 4600 during <strong>the</strong> dry seas<strong>on</strong> (95% CI 3100-6600). More hares were detected from<br />

Sanetti Plateau and less from Web Valley (Kotera). Vegetati<strong>on</strong> coverage was high (65.21%) during<br />

<strong>the</strong> wet seas<strong>on</strong> and low (

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