Ethiopian wolves sit on a ridge against the sunset. © Adrien Lesaffre
Determining accurate population estimates is one of the most challenging, yet important, parts of any wildlife conservation programme. It asks a very simple question - how many animals remain in the wild? Whilst exact population numbers may be secondary to maintaining healthy breeding units for the wolves’ long-term future, it remains a key part of EWCP’s monitoring activities.
In a paper published in Wildlife Biology this month, we worked out a new population estimate for the Ethiopian wolf. The updated figure suggests that there are now 454 adult wolves in 99 packs across six isolated populations in the Ethiopian highlands. The species remains not only the world’s rarest canid, but Africa’s rarest carnivore.
Estimating a figure like this takes significant data and a robust methodology, underpinned by the hard work and devotion of EWCP’s field staff. It was done using fieldwork observations from the 2020-2021 breeding season, the most intensive period of our field presence in recent years before the Covid-19 pandemic and armed conflicts made regular monitoring of many populations both difficult and dangerous. That year, 16 highly experienced wolf monitors - along with 17 wolf ambassadors from local communities - collected nearly 5,000 individual wolf sightings, visiting known focal areas 10-20 days per month.
Although ultimately just a number, this new estimate not only serves as a reminder of the numerous threats facing the long-term survival of this beautiful species, but also reinforces the importance of our work.
Current and extinct Ethiopian wolf populations. The Eastern Afromontane biodiversity hotspot indicated in grey; red denotes potentially suitable Afroalpine habitat under current climatic conditions; black denotes remaining Afroalpine habitat.
Notably, the six distinct populations remain totally isolated, secluded on their own little highland islands. Since monitoring began in 1988 (with the Sanetti Plateau counts starting in 1983), there has never been a record of a wolf crossing the agricultural lands that divide them. These last bastions are also shrinking, against the rising tide of subsistence agricultural encroachment, and two more populations have gone extinct in the past twenty years. With long-distance dispersal severely limited, even suitable wolf habitat has little hope of being re-colonised.
Against this backdrop, our proposed conservation translocations would for the first time enable the re-introduction of Ethiopian wolves back into suitable habitat patches. In parallel, the ongoing Biodiversity Friendly Futures and Living with Wolves projects are working hard to build sustainable livelihoods for local communities that benefit both people and the unique Afroalpine wildlife. With only 21% of the potential suitable habitat areas actually available to Ethiopian wolves, there is much work still to be done to see their numbers begin to rise again.
The sun sets over the Simien Mountains, Northern Ethiopia @ Jorgelina Marino.