Simien Treks
Ethiopian Wolf
The Ethiopian Wolf is one of the rarest Canids in the world, and is native to the Ethiopian highlands. It is distinguished by its low and narrow skull, and its red and white fur, and is similar in size to a coyote. The Ethiopian Wolf is highly specialized to feed on Afroalpine rodents, and is Africa’s most endangered carnivore with an estimated population of 350-450 individuals.
The Ethiopian wolf is a social animal, with groups containing up to 20 individuals.
Each pack has a well-established hierarchy, and these packs typically occupy communal territories of approximately 2 square miles or more, depending on rodent density. Ethiopian Wolves tend to hunt during the day, when rodents are most active, and typically feed only on small prey. In a 1902 book chronicling his travels through the Simien mountains, Major Percy-Cotton described the hunting behaviour of Ethiopian Wolves as thus:
... they are most amusing to watch, when hunting. The rats, which are brown, with short tails, live in big colonies and dart from burrow to burrow, while the cuberow (Ethiopian Wolf) stands motionless till one of them shows, when he makes a pounce for it. If he is unsuccessful, he seems to lose his temper, and starts digging violently; but this is only lost labour, as the ground is honeycombed with holes, and every rat is yards away before he has thrown up a pawful”
