The Simien Fox in the Balé Mountains

Abstract

An endemic species in Ethiopia, the Simien fox survives in only four areas, and is in danger of extinction in three of them, including the mountains from which it is named. Its only predator is man, and the chief causes of its decline are habitat destruction and the unfounded belief that it takes domestic stock. The Balé Mountains now hold the largest Simien fox population, which the authors estimate at between 350 and 475 animals. The urgent need is for the Balé Mountains National Park, proposed in 1970, to be gazetted. © 1977, Fauna and Flora International. All rights reserved.