Ethiopian Wolf

Map of the range of the Ethiopian Wolf.

The Ethiopian Wolf (Canis simensis), also known as the Abyssinian Wolf, Simien Jackal or Simien Fox is one of the rarest and most endangered of all canids. The numerous names reflect previous uncertainty about their taxonomic position, but they are now thought to be related to the wolves of the genus Canis, rather than foxes they resemble. It is found in the Afro- alpine regions of Ethiopia and Eritrea , about 10,000 feet (3,000 meters) above sea level. Only about twelve populations, totaling about 550 adults, remain. They feed on afro-alpine rodents (one study found that 96% of their prey were rodents), particularly African mole rats and grass-rats. They willl, however, also take small antelopes like reedbuck, the calves of larger antelope (like the Mountain Nyala), hares and hyraxes. Ethiopian Wolves are diurnal.

When feeding on rodents Ethiopian Wolves tend to hunt alone, but they are territorial social canids that form packs and defend territories. The pack, which numbers up to a dozen adults with a skewed sex ratio of several males to each female, patrols and defends the territory.

Claudio Sillero-Zubiri at the University of Oxford is the zoologist most closely associated with efforts to save this species of wolf, particularly with his work for an oral rabies vaccine to protect them from the disease passed from local dogs. A rabies outbreak in 1990 reduced the largest known population, found in the Bale Mountains National Park, from about 440 wolves to less than 160 in only two weeks.