In the highlands of Ethiopia
lives the rarest canine on Earth…
Ethiopian Wolf
In 2011, I teamed up with Rebecca Jackrel, a brilliant photographer from the US. She was moved by the plight of the Ethiopian Wolf, Africa’s most endangered carnivore, and wanted to undertake an expedition to photograph the wolves and raise funds for the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme. I was privileged to join forces with her for this project.
The Wolves
High in the mountains of Ethiopia lives the rarest canine on Earth: the Ethiopian Wolf (Canis simensis). This elegant animal was long thought to be in the fox or jackal family, but DNA analysis has proven that the Ethiopian Wolf is its own distinct species, most closely related to the European Grey Wolf. While they are predominantly solitary hunters, the Ethiopian Wolves share a similarly strong pack structure and denning behavior as the Grey wolf.
Young wolf pups playing outside the den.
Today, Ethiopian wolves are marooned in six high-altitude regions of Ethiopia. They are only found above 3,000m in Afroalpine grassland and heathland. In total there are around 450 wolves left in the wild and none in captivity. Ethiopian wolves are highly endangered and very susceptible to diseases transmitted by domestic dogs such as canine distemper and rabies.
The Expedition
Our expedition to Bale Mountains National Park in Ethiopia to photograph the wolves took place in November-December 2011. The expedition was funded via a Kickstarter campaign. We worked closely with the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme (EWCP) who provided logistical support and guides.
Wolf pups playing outside the den.
Our expedition took place during the wolves’ denning season. We spent much of our time at the den sites of several different packs in the Web Valley and Sanetti Plateau regions of Bale. This allowed us to photograph the wolf pups and the interactions of the pack throughout the day. We also photographed the wolves’ beautiful Afroalpine habitat as well as aspects of the EWCP’s conservation work.
At the time of our expedition, EWCP was in the midst of trialing a groundbreaking new oral rabies vaccine on the wolves. The wolves had been administered the vaccine in laced meat prior to our arrival and we were present for the phase where the wolves were caught and tested for antibodies to establish the efficacy of the vaccination.
EWCP team with a sedated Ethiopian wolf.
The Book
We teamed up with writer and conservationist, Jaymi Heimbuch, to produce a coffee-table book titled “The Ethiopian Wolf: Hope at the Edge of Extinction”, featuring photographs from our expedition as well as information about the wolves and conservation work. The majority of proceeds from book sales have been donated to the EWCP. The book has helped to raise global awareness for the plight of the Ethiopian Wolf and the project has resulted in total donations to the EWCP exceeding three times the amount raised via the initial Kickstarter campaign.
The book is now out of print, but there are still a few copies available from Amazon.com.
