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Ethiopia
Walia Ibex
The habitat of the Walia Ibex is the
High Semyen, Ethiopia's dramatic high mountain terrain. In the
earth's long history of violent geographical change, the most recent
volcanic upheavals took place in eastern Africa, followed by
torrential rains which created the thousand gushing waterfalls which
in turn eroded away the newly formed mountain massif, creating the
great gorges and gulleys which are so typical of the region. South
west of Axum the land descends gradually southwards toward the
Takazze river. At the lip of the gorge at about 1,400 metres (4,600
ft.) one can look across the chasm to a similar plateau beyond. On
top of this plateau, adorned with steep turrets and bastions rising
in three distinct steps, is perched the north wall of the Semyen.
The mountain massif is a broad
plateau, cut off on the north and west by this enormous single crag
over 60 kms. (40 miles) long and 1,000-1,500 metres (3000-5000 ft.)
high. To the south the table]and slopes gently down to 2,200 metres
(7,000 ft.) divided by deep gorges 1,000 metres deep and taking two
days to cross. Time has not yet been sufficient to soften the
contours of the crags and buttresses of hardened basalt. As far as
the eye can see looking north from the escarpment, the fused
volcanic cores stand starkly defying the elements. Overhead
stretches the vast dome of a sky of the deepest blue, which spreads
downwards as clear as sapphire to the mauve of the horizon.
In this scenic splendour, lives the
Walia Ibex; here and nowhere else in the world. Forced by Man to
retreat, and to retreat again, it has been driven in its extremity
to inhabit the most inaccessible (except to a bird or a Walia),
cliffs of the Semyen escarpment. The Walia once existed in
significant numbers probably several thousands in the highland
massif, feeding on the cliff faces and coming up to roam the plateau
at rutting time. Large herds wandered unmolested on these chilly
heights.
Even up to 50 years ago there were
well over a thousand. With the Italian agression in Ethiopia, the
species started its dramatic decline to the brink of extinction.
Guerrillas fighting the Italians and living off the country found
the Walia a convenient source of meat. Later, the local people again
took i up arms against the Walia, killing perhaps five in order to
reclaim the meat from one. Most of them, whose wounded bodies spin
and crash from the narrow ledges where they feed, into the abysses a
thousand ieet or more below, are never recovered. Rarely, a rope
descent will bring to the surface the meat and parts of the skin,
but the trophy, the splendid horns desired by locals to make
drinking mugs, and by sportsmen to decorate their sitting rooms, are
usually lost forever.
First recorded in 1835 by Ruppell,
and first properly observed by Powell Cotton at the beginning of the
century (l900), the Walia at that time was a mythical beast and
little was known of its numbers and status. The inaccessibility of
its habitat combined with various historical events such as the
Italian occupation and World War II, which made visits to the region
out of the question for longish periods, has prevented the keepiug
of a continous record since then. So until Leslie Brown made his
preliminary study in the early sixties, little was known of its
behaviour or habits.
A remnant of the early incursion of
Palearctic fauna into the tropics, the nearest relative of the Walia
is the Nubian Ibex (C. nubiana). There is a gap of several
hundred miles of lowlands between the southern- most limit of the
Nubian and the highland habitat of the Walia. The Walia differs in
being 1arger and more massive, with dark brown as opposed to pale
brown fur. The horns of the males are more massive but not quite so
long, and have the knobs or ridges on the anterior surface reduced.
The Walia has a bony process on the forehead. The anatomical
differences together with the differences in habitat have lent
weight to the argument that the Walia is a distinct species.
The terrain which the Walia inhabits
is from 2,300- 4,000 metres (7,500-13,500 ft.) but chiefly above
2,500 and below 3,000 (8,000-9,500ft.). The tiny remnant population
which remains is now con- fined to a range of about twenty miles of
the highest and steepest bays and buttresscs of the northern
escarpment. They are already extinct in all other parts of their
range which once stretched from Byeda along the escarpment to Geech
and Adis Gey.
The narrow vertical range which they
tend to occupy today would seem to be the result of persistent
hunting. They have become extremely wary and shy and chosen to be
not get-atable from top or bottom. With protection maybe they will
once again emerge on to the plateau.
Mountain sheep and goats have feet
that are special- ly adapted for living in mountainous terrain.
Their hooves have sharp edges and the undersides are concave,
enabling them to adhere somewhat like suction cups. To watch even
the youngest and smallest of the Walia kids gambolling about on
slanted rocky ledges in a cliff face of terrifying steepness, a 500
metre drop only inches away, makes one catch one's breath with
anxiety. They never fall.
The males and the females both have
horns, but the males' are more massive. Curving back in a graceful
arc to the withers they sometimes attain a length of over 110 cms.
The females are smaller in body and lighter in colour with shorter
thinner horns. They live in small parties of two to half a dozen and
the big old males often live solitary except during the mating
season. Because of the rarity of the animal, it is not often
possible to observe a large male and one feels privileged to do so.
The magnificent horns and striking colouration make it an
unforgettable sight.
They are sturdily built animals
standing about a metre high at the shoulder and weighing up to 120
kgs. Their beautiful chocolate to chestnut brown coats shade to
greyish brown round the muzzle, paler grey around the eyes, lower
flanks, legs and rump, and pale grey or white on the belly and
inside of the legs. There is a black stripe down the outside of the
legs and a white garter on each fetlock broken in the hind legs by a
black streak into the cleft of the hoof. Mature males sport an
elegant black beard. The tail is short with a brushlike tuft of
black hairs.
You can usually observe them when
come out on to the rocky ledges to sun themselves in the morning and
evening. Little herds of females and young are not uncommon, or even
single females with a kid at foot. Sometimes you will see a yearling
group of young males which can be distinguished by their paler
greyer colour and the thickness of their small short horns. They eat
grass and herbs, but prefer to to browse rather than graze, standing
up on their hind legs like domestic goats to reach the tender shoots
of giant heath. There is no shortage of food, as inside the forest
of heath there is abundant forage of herbs and sweet soft grasses.
They tend not to drink although water is plentiful; it is assumed
that they get sufficient moisture from the green stuff on which they
feed. They usually lie up in caves or thickets during the day,
although this is not an in- fallible rule and I have observed them
at lunchtime - a group of youngsters playing in the sun.
The Walia's story is not yet ended.
In 1963 it was classified by the IUCN as in danger of extinction. In
that year the total number remaining alive was estimated at less
than 200, probably 150. Indiscriminate hunting and destruction of
habitat by local people had combined to drive the few remaining
animals on to the vertical cliff sides for survival- (Only four
adult males have been taken since 1956 by legitimate shooting).
Fortunately before the end came the Ethiopian Government recognized
the danger and, in 1965, drew up plans to establish a national park
to protect both the habitat and its fauna, and the park was gazetted
the same year. It was found that numbers had remained steady for two
years, indicating that with protection they might increase fairly
rapidly. Guards were appointed from Geech to Mietgogo to curb local
poaching and illegal cultivation and burning of habitat. In the past
fifteen years, numbers have increased steadily, as the females are
still ready and willing to breed in the caves in the cliff face.
At the present time, not less than
10% of the cliff surface is composed of broad ]edges or green
gullies in which Walia can feed. Brown estimates that this amount of
land space can support a population of two or three thousand. The
Walia has no natural enemies apart possibly from the occasional bird
of prey, and thus with complete protection from Man they could be
expected to recover their numbers and to double the present
population in ten years.
At present it is still difficult to
properly enforce the protection laws, and the local people cannot be
expected to know that this animal exists only here. Nor could they
realize that it could be anticipated to generate a far larger income
if allowed to live and breed, than its dead parts will ever earn. It
can only be hoped that the precipitous terrain in which the last
survivors live will enable a nucleus herd to survive until such time
as visitors from all over the world will be able to come and observe
this rare creature in the magnificence of its mountain habitat.
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