Sustainable Choices to Protect Endangered Species, Week 14

Sustainable Choices to Protect Ethiopian Wolves

(Photo of Ethiopian Wolf by Wikimedia Commons)

Ethiopian Wolf

Ethiopian wolves are small, long canids. According to the African Wildlife Foundation they can reach up to 3 feet long and weigh 24 to 42 pounds. Their fur coat is a red color with patches of white on their belly, chest, and throat. Ethiopian wolves also have long bushy tails that are usually black in color. This species of wolves are found in Ethiopian highlands. Specifically, this species is confined to seven isolated mountain ranges in the Ethiopian highlands. They tend to be found in the Simien Mountains, Arsi Mountains, and Bale Mountains. Ethiopian wolves are towards the top of the food chain, preying predominately on Afroalpine rodents. Sometimes a small group of wolves will work together to take down a young antelopes, hares, and lambs. There are no other animals in their habitat that eat or prey on the Ethiopian wolves. According to the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme, Ethiopian wolves live in cohesive family packs with a dominant male and dominate female in each pack. Mating usually happens between August and November, with only the dominant female reproducing. A female will only give birth once a year between the months of October and December. Gestation is 60-62 days and up to seven pups may be born in one litter. Ethiopian wolves have a generation length of 4.5 years, as stated by the IUCN Redlist. Also, according to the IUCN Redlist page, the number of mature Ethiopian wolves is 197 and decreasing.

Ethiopian Wolf Habitat

The Ethiopian wolf is an organism that belongs to one of the major biomes on Earth, grasslands. Grasslands occur all over the world except for Antarctica. Grasslands are areas of land where the vegetation is predominantly grasses (Wikipedia, 2019).

(Photo of a grassland by Ruben Holthuijsen on Flickr)

There are many other factors that define the grassland biomes on the planet. The temperature in the grasslands typically ranges anywhere from -5 degrees Celsius to 20 degrees Celsius although there are some grasslands that can drop to -30 degrees Celsius or even reach 30 degrees Celsius. There are some grasslands in the mid-latitude area where the temperature is warmer and dryer than some of the more wet grasslands that are flooded. The soil of grasslands is fertile and nutrient rich due to all the roots of the grasses and shrubs. This means that the availability of nutrients is pretty high. Grasslands don’t seem to see a lot of rainfall in a year. Usually rainfall totals are about 75 to 150 centimeters per year. For the biotic factors of the grasslands, primary producers include the prairie grass, plants, flowers, and fungi. Among the primary consumers are blue wildebeest, American bison, meerkats, and prairie dogs (Wikipedia, 2019). Tertiary consumers of the grasslands can include cheetahs, lions, and the Ethiopian wolves. These animals are at the top of the food chain in the grassland biome.

Within the major biome of grasslands, Ethiopian wolves primarily habit the Afroalpine grasslands and heathlands. Afroalpine grasslands cover the majority of two Ethiopian mountain massifs (World Wildlife Fund, 2019). The Afroalpine grasslands usually range from 3,200m to 4,500m in elevation.

(Photo of Ethiopian Wolf in Afroalpine Grassland, by Carsten ten Brink on Flickr)

On average, rainfall in this high-altitude environment ranges for 1,000mm to 2,000mm of rain a year. Seasons are not very prevalent, but there is one pronounced dry season from December to February or March. This habitat is suitable for the wolves because there are plenty of Afroalpine rodents for them to prey on. Most Ethiopian wolves prefer open areas with short herbaceous and grassland communities where these rodents are most likely to be found. They also like to be around areas that are flat or gently sloping with deep soils and poor drainage areas for water (IUCN, 2019). Another prime habitat for Ethiopian wolves is the Bale Mountains in Ethiopia. The Bale Mountains have short herbs and grasses and low vegetation coverage.

(Photo of Bale Mountain National Park by Richard Mortel on Flickr)

Many Ethiopian wolves are found here. These habitats are important to this species because they provide them with their main source of food, rodents. This habitat needs the small burrowing rodents that continually maintain the soil in order to thrive. This area also relies on the small amount of rainfall it receives each year. Overall, this habitat is the perfect place for Ethiopian wolves to live.

Critical Threat to the Ethiopian Wolves

There are many threats that are impacting the survival of the Ethiopian wolves as well as the biome they reside in. One of these critical threats is that of agriculture and livestock farming. High altitude subsistence agriculture is leading to the continuous loss of the Ethiopian wolf’s habitat (IUCN). The IUCN Redlist page states that sixty percent of all land above 3,200 m has been converted into farmland, and all populations below 3,700 m are particularly vulnerable to further habitat loss, especially if the areas are small and of relatively flat relief.

(Photo by National Park Service of grasslands being cleared for agriculture)

This is having a huge impact on the biome as a whole because a tremendous amount of land is being lost to farming. Livestock raised on these farms also pose a threat because of overgrazing of the pasture in the grasslands. Agriculture and farming affect the abiotic factors of this biome by cultivating the soil, destroying its original diversity, and taking away all the land. This threat also harms the biotic components of the biome because there is less land for organisms to live on and because of overgrazing by livestock there isn’t as many food sources for primary consumers. This threat is directly affecting the Ethiopian wolves because they are being forced out of their natural habitat by agricultural developments.

The issue of agriculture and livestock farming isn’t just a threat to the grassland biome. The tropical rainforest is extremely threatened by the same means. According to National Geographic’s website, tropical rainforests used to cover 14% of the land on Earth, but now they only cover about 6%. One of the main causes of this is agriculture and livestock. Subsistence farming, like discussed in the grassland biome, is causing large amounts of the tropical rainforest to be burned, cut down, and cleared for crops and grazing land. The cattle industry also involves large scale clearing of tropical rainforest land. This affects the abiotic factors of the biome by ruining soil fertility, and clearing too much land.

(Photo on Flickr of the clearing of the tropical rainforest)

The biotic components are also affected because just like the organisms in the grassland biome, the organisms in the tropical rainforest are losing their habitat and being forced out. Overall agriculture and livestock farming pose a great threat to both the grassland biome where the Ethiopian wolves reside, as well as the tropical rainforests around the world.

What Can We Do?

There are currently efforts going on all around the world to help prevent the extinction of the Ethiopian wolf population. To address the threat of agriculture and habitat loss, the boundaries of some national parks in Ethiopia where the wolves are found have been extended and new national parks have been created. This helps give the wolves more areas to live in which are protected by law. The IUCN Redlist states that as a result of the boundary extensions and new parks, the area of suitable wolf habitat within protected areas is up to 87%. There are many other things people are doing to help this species survive such as strengthening the capacity of the Bale Mountains National Park, providing rabies vaccinations to the wolves, and sterilizing hybrids in Bale to prevent the loss of genetic integrity among the wolf population.

(Photo by Wikimedia Commons of Bale National Park where they work to help protect the Ethiopian wolf population)

Even though there are no Ethiopian wolves here in Keene, there are things we can do to help prevent their extinction. The choices we make each day can make an impact on the world. One way in which we can help the survival of this species is to donate to organizations, such as the African Wildlife Foundation, that are trying to ensure these wolves stay protected. Another way you can help the Ethiopian wolves without spending money, is simply to educate yourself on the issue. The IUCN Redlist discusses the creation of the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme and how one of the things they do is implement education campaigns about the plight of the species. It may seem like there isn’t much we can do and that the problem is far from the realm of Keene, NH, but there are choices we make each day that can impact the happenings of the world.