Notes on the Biogeography of the Blue Nile (Great Abbai) Gorge in Ethiopia

Abstract

The authors visited the Gorge in August-September 1968 on the `Great Abbai Expedition', the organisation of which was described by Blashford Snell (1970) and Snailham (1970). The river was explored from Shafartak road bridge downstream to Sirba (about 400 km), using four metal boats. The journey took one month and was punctuated by stops of 1--5 days at `Forward Bases' along the river. General collecting of vertebrates was done at these, and it is this part of the river with which we are most familiar.