Bale National Park, Ethiopia Photograph by © WWF-Canon/Martin NICOLL   Afrotropics Montane Grasslands and Shrublands   9,700 square miles (25,200 square kilometers) -- about the size of Maryland Vulnerable

· Moorlands in the Mountains
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Moorlands in the Mountains

The Ethiopian Montane Moorland covers the highest parts of the Ethiopian highlands, between 11,000 and 15,000 feet (3,300-4,500 m). Moorland, grasslands, and herb meadows are the dominant habitats of the region. During the last ice age this area was covered in glaciers. Only within the last few thousand years did the ice finally retreat, allowing vegetation to colonize the peaks.

Special Features

The Ethiopian Montane Moorland is a varied and rugged ecoregion, containing the largest continuous expanse of Afro-alpine vegetation. At 15,250 feet (4,620 m), Mt. Ras Dashan is the highest point. The area includes plant species that have adapted to the cold and dry environment, such as tree heaths, red-hot pokers, and giant lobelias. The giant lobelias are yucca-like plants that can reach 18 feet (5.4 m) tall when flowering. Lichens drape the high altitude trees, while some mosses have developed special adaptations to the freezing soil by forming balls that ride on top of the soil as it freezes and thaws. Other plants include yellow primrose and different species of rose, which share affinities with European alpine plants.

	The Ethiopian wolf is extremely vocal. Among the calls it makes are group yip-howls, yelping barks, two-part bleating, and an explosive scream! It is known to rest on giant mole rat middens (dung hills), which provide warmth and an ideal hangout from which to ambush rodents and other prey.

Wild Side

Despite the fragmented nature of this ecoregion, many highly threatened large mammals still persist, especially in protected areas. The Ethiopian wolf--also known as the Simien fox--inhabits open moorlands above 10,000 feet (3,000 m). Resembling a fox, dog, and jackal, it is so unusual that it belongs to its own genus. This critically endangered species is unlikely to survive as people move their livestock into the area, transform this fragile habitat into grazing land, and continue to kill the wolves. Most of the remaining population of critically endangered Walia ibex lives in Simien Mountain National Park. Other mammals include endangered mountain nyalas, which browse on shrubs; gelada baboons; and giant root rats, which munch on roots and stems.

Cause for Concern

The human population is growing rapidly in this region. Activities such as high-altitude agriculture, shifting cultivation, heather fires, and overgrazing of livestock all threaten remaining blocks of habitats and wild species. Many wildlife populations are restricted to parks, but here, too, they are threatened by humans and their livestock.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.