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

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Starck’s hares were highly selective for m<strong>on</strong>ocot plants with limited use of dicots during <strong>the</strong> dry<br />

seas<strong>on</strong> (Table 5).<br />

Table 5. Plant coverage and percentage dietary compositi<strong>on</strong> of starck’s hare from faecal analysis.<br />

Seas<strong>on</strong><br />

M<strong>on</strong>ocot (%)<br />

Plant coverage Diet<br />

Dicot (%)<br />

Plant coverage Diet<br />

Wet 16.01 95.88 49.2 00<br />

Dry 7.87 81.82 19.33 11.32<br />

Starck’s hares were mostly restricted to rocky grassland with low wind areas. However,<br />

during <strong>the</strong> dry seas<strong>on</strong> when grasslands dried out, most were observed feeding in wetland habitats<br />

(Table 6).<br />

Table 6. Number and percentage of Starck’s hares recorded from different types of habitats at<br />

different level of wind.<br />

Wet<br />

Dry<br />

Discussi<strong>on</strong><br />

Habitat type Wind level<br />

Rocky<br />

grassland<br />

Wetland O<strong>the</strong>rs Str<strong>on</strong>g Medium Low<br />

No. of<br />

individuals 278 42 69 45 125 219<br />

%<br />

No. of<br />

71.47 10.80 17.74 11.66 32.13 56.30<br />

individuals 95 112 60 54 71 142<br />

% 35.58 41.95 22.47 20.22 26.59 53.18<br />

IUCN (2006) listed Starck’s hare as a species of least c<strong>on</strong>cern. The results reported here c<strong>on</strong>firm<br />

that this endemic species is still locally abundant at least in <strong>the</strong> Afroalpine moorlands of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Bale</strong><br />

<strong>Mountains</strong>.<br />

The populati<strong>on</strong> densities reported here are broadly similar to those published by Sillero-Zubiri<br />

(1994), with estimates of 30, 20 and 17 per km2 for Sanetti, Tullu Deemtu and Kotera respectively<br />

versus 23.3, 13.2 and 11.0 per km2 for <strong>the</strong> same three areas in this study. The highest density of<br />

hares occurred <strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong> Sanetti Plateau. This could be due to <strong>the</strong> lower levels of livestock and human<br />

disturbance compared to <strong>the</strong> Web Valley. The hares were most abundant in a rocky grassland habitat<br />

with scattered Erica for shelter and in small valleys where <strong>the</strong>y might be protected from cold and<br />

predators.<br />

During <strong>the</strong> dry seas<strong>on</strong> counts of hares declined. It is not clear is this is an artifact of sampling<br />

or a result of a die-off or dispersal of young animals.<br />

Total plant cover was higher in <strong>the</strong> wet than <strong>the</strong> dry seas<strong>on</strong>. In this study, <strong>the</strong> most abundant<br />

plant species during both seas<strong>on</strong>s were Festuca spp, Alchemilla abyssinica, Helichrysum gofense,<br />

H. citrispinum and Trifolium acaule. In both seas<strong>on</strong>s, Starck’s hare showed a str<strong>on</strong>g preference<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> 58

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