Las Gorey, Somalia Photograph by Frank Horwood   Afrotropics Deserts and Xeric Shrublands   58,800 square miles (152,200 square kilometers) -- about the size of Georgia and Rhode Island combined Vulnerable

· Life in a Harsh Environment
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Life in a Harsh Environment

If you were to spend time in the Ethiopian Xeric Grasslands and Shrublands, you'd probably find it a rather inhospitable place. The climate is very hot and very dry. Earthquakes jolt the land on a regular basis, and volcanoes erupt on occasion. What's more, the region has been politically unstable for more than 30 years. But despite all of these factors, the ecoregion continues to support quite an exceptional diversity of wild species, from gazelles to gerenuks to geckos.

Special Features

The Ethiopian Xeric Grasslands and Shrublands is a semi-desert ecoregion that borders the Red Sea and the Gulf of Oman. It stretches from the Sudan-Ethiopia border south to Djibouti and includes the Dahlak Archipelago and other islands. The climate is very hot and dry, with average high temperatures around 86º F (30º C) and rainfall ranging from less than four inches (100 mm) to about eight inches (200 mm) per year. Among the very few permanent watercourses in the area is the Awash River of Ethiopia, which terminates in a series of lakes near the Djibouti border.

	The Beisa oryx can go for long periods of time without drinking water because it digs up roots and tubers and obtains moisture from them.

Wild Side

A great number of plant species and many kinds of animals can be found in this arid ecoregion. Many grazing animals tolerate the ecoregion's harsh conditions, including African wild asses, beiras, Dorcas gazelles, Soemmering's gazelles, and Beisa oryx. Tall antelopes called gerenuks feed on the leaves of trees and shrubs. Many lizards can be found scurrying around, including the endemic Arnold's leaf-toed gecko. And an endemic local species of gerbil lives in underground tunnels. The region's one endemic bird species is the Archer's lark.

Cause for Concern

The major threats to this region are overgrazing by livestock, tree cutting for fuel and timber, and land clearance for agriculture. Hunting by local people, the government, and resistance armies has greatly reduced populations of most large mammals and has probably already driven the giraffe to extinction in the region.

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