Arsi Mountains National Park is a

national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

Arsi Zone Arsi ( om, Godina Arsii) is a zone in Oromia Region of Ethiopia, named after a clan of the Oromo, who inhabit in the area. Arsi is bordered on the south by Bale Zone, on the southwest by the West Arsi Zone, on the northwest by East Shewa Zone, ...

Oromia Region Oromia (Amharic: ) ( om, Oromiyaa) is a regional state in Ethiopia and the homeland of the Oromo people. The capital of Oromia is Addis Ababa. It is bordered by the Somali Region to the east; the Amhara Region, the Afar Region and the Benish ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

. It protects a portion of the

Ethiopian Highlands The Ethiopian Highlands is a rugged mass of mountains in Ethiopia in Northeast Africa. It forms the largest continuous area of its elevation in the continent, with little of its surface falling below , while the summits reach heights of up to . ...

, and includes montane forests, subalpine heath, and alpine grasslands and shrublands. The park was designated in 2011, and covers an area of 10876 km².

Geography

The park encompasses the Arsi Mountains, which are part of the

. The mountains extend northeast to southwest through the park, and form the southern wall of the

African Rift Valley The East African Rift (EAR) or East African Rift System (EARS) is an active continental rift zone in East Africa. The EAR began developing around the onset of the Miocene, 22–25 million years ago. In the past it was considered to be part of ...

. Mountains in the park include Dhara Dilfekar block,

Mount Chilalo Mount Chilalo is an isolated, extinct silicic volcanic mountain in southeastern Ethiopia. Its highest point (4036 m or 13,241 ft a.s.l.), in the Arsi Zone of the Oromia Region, is located in Arsi Mountains National Park on the border between the ...

(with the heigh of 4036 m), the Galama Ridges, Mount Kaka, and Hunkolo. The volcanic caldera of Mount Chilalo is the highest point in the park. Mountain rainfall sustains numerous streams and alpine lakes such as

Lake Ziway Hora-Dambal also known as Lake Zway or Dambal ( Oromo: ''Hora Dambal'', Amharic: ዟይ ሐይቅ) is one of the freshwater Rift Valley lakes of Ethiopia. It is located about 100 miles south of Addis Ababa, on the border between the Oromia and S ...

. The northern slopes drain towards the

Awash River The Awash (sometimes spelled Awaash; Oromo: ''Awaash'', Amharic: አዋሽ, Afar: ''We'ayot'', Somali: ''Webiga Dir'') is a major river of Ethiopia. Its course is entirely contained within the boundaries of Ethiopia and empties into a chain of ...

, while the southern slopes are drained by headwater streams of the

Shebelle River The Shebelle River ( so, Webi Shabeelle, ar, نهر شبيلي, am, እደላ) begins in the Ethiopian Highlands, highlands of Ethiopia, and then flows southeast into Somalia towards Mogadishu. Near Mogadishu, it turns sharply southwest, where ...

Bale Mountains National Park Bale Mountains National Park (BMNP) is a national park in Ethiopia. The park encompasses an area of approximately in the Bale Mountains and Sanetti Plateau of the Ethiopian Highlands. The park's Afromontane habitats have one of the highest incid ...

lies southeast of the Arsi Mountains. The upper valley of the Shebelle River separates the Arsi Mountains from the Bale Mountains.

Flora and fauna

There are three main vegetation zones in the park, generally defined by altitude. Dry evergreen

Afromontane The Afromontane regions are subregions of the Afrotropical realm, one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms, covering the plant and animal species found in the mountains of Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula. The Afromontane regions ...

forests predominate on the lower slopes, from 2843 to 3756 meters elevation. The dry evergreen forests are interspersed with areas of mixed plantations of native and exotic trees between 3181 and 3340 meters elevation.Zerihun Girma, George Chuyong, Paul Evangelista, and Yosef Mamo "Vascular Plant Species Composition, Relative Abundance, Distribution, and Threats in Arsi Mountains National Park, Ethiopia," Mountain Research and Development 38(2), 143-152, (1 May 2018)

/ref> Subalpine vegetation, mostly heath shrubland dominated by the shrubs ''

Erica arborea ''Erica arborea'', the tree heath or tree heather, is a species of flowering plant (angiosperms) in the heather family Ericaceae, native to the Mediterranean Basin and Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania in East Africa. It is also cultivated as an or ...

'' and ''

Erica trimera ''Erica trimera'' is a species of flowering plant. It is a shrub or tree which grows in the mountains of eastern and central Africa. Description ''Erica trimera'' is an evergreen shrub or tree which grows from .4 to 12 meters in height, with a ...

'', occurs above the tree line, from 3202 to 3985 meters elevation. Afro-alpine vegetation occurs at the highest elevations, from 3576 to 4008 meters. It is made up mostly of grasses, herbs, trees, and shrubs, including species of ''

Helichrysum The genus ''Helichrysum'' consists of an estimated 600 species of flowering plants in the sunflower family (Asteraceae). The type species is ''Helichrysum orientale''. They often go by the names everlasting, immortelle, and strawflower. The name ...

'' and ''

Alchemilla ''Alchemilla'' is a genus of herbaceous perennial plants in the family Rosaceae, with the common name lady's mantle applied generically as well as specifically to ''Alchemilla mollis'' when referred to as a garden plant. The plant used as a herb ...

'', interspersed with stands of the giant lobelia ''

Lobelia rhynchopetalum ''Lobelia rhynchopetalum'', the giant lobelia, is a plant endemic to Ethiopia. Its habitat is the Afroalpine climate of the Semien Mountains and Bale Mountains National Park Bale Mountains National Park (BMNP) is a national park in Ethiopia. Th ...

'', which is endemic to the Afro-alpine Ethiopian Highlands.

Mammal

The Arsi Mountains National Park is home to 30 species that are both common and Endemic to its ecoregion. Endemic wildlife in the park includes the endangered

mountain nyala The mountain nyala (Amharic: የተራራ ኒዮላ) (''Tragelaphus buxtoni'') or balbok is an antelope found in high altitude woodland in a small part of central Ethiopia. It is a monotypic species (without any identified subspecies) first de ...

(''Tragelaphus buxtoni''), Menelik’s bushbuck (''Tragelaphus scriptus menelik''), and

Ethiopian wolf The Ethiopian wolf (''Canis simensis''), also called the Simien jackal and Simien fox, is a canine native to the Ethiopian Highlands. In southeastern Ethiopia it is also known as the horse jackal. It is similar to the coyote in size and build ...

(''Canis simensis''). The park is home to several rare and limited-range highland rodents, including the

Ethiopian striped mouse The Ethiopian striped mouse or striped-back mouse (''Mus imberbis'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is only found in Ethiopia. It was formerly classified in the monotypic genus ''Muriculus'', but phylogenetic evidence supports ...

(''Mus imberbis''),

Nikolaus's mouse Nikolaus's mouse (''Megadendromus nikolausi'') is a species of rodent in the family Nesomyidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Megadendromus''. It is found only in Ethiopia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical high-altitude shr ...

(''Megadendromus nikolausi''),

Blick's grass rat Blick's grass rat (''Arvicanthis blicki'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in Ethiopia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland. It is threatened by habitat loss. References * Lavren ...

(''Arvicanthis blicki''),

black-clawed brush-furred rat The black-clawed brush-furred rat (''Lophuromys melanonyx'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in Ethiopia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland. It is threatened by habitat loss ...

(''Lophuromys melanonyx''), and Ethiopian forest brush-furred rat (''Lophuromys chrysopus''). Other mammals found common in Dhera Dilfekar block and Chilalo-Galama Mountain Range includes

Spotted hyenas The spotted hyena (''Crocuta crocuta''), also known as the laughing hyena, is a hyena species, currently classed as the sole extant member of the genus ''Crocuta'', native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is listed as being of least concern by the IUC ...

Greater Kudu The greater kudu (''Tragelaphus strepsiceros'') is a woodland antelope found throughout eastern and southern Africa. Despite occupying such widespread territory, they are sparsely populated in most areas due to declining habitat, deforestation, ...

Lesser Kudu The lesser kudu (''Tragelaphus imberbis'') is a bushland antelope found in East Africa. It is placed in the genus ''Tragelaphus'' and family Bovidae. It was first scientifically described by the English zoologist Edward Blyth in 1869. The head- ...

Egyptian mongoose The Egyptian mongoose (''Herpestes ichneumon''), also known as ichneumon (), is a mongoose species native to the coastal regions along the Mediterranean Sea between North Africa and Turkey, tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrub ...

White-tailed mongoose The white-tailed mongoose (''Ichneumia albicauda'') is a species in the mongoose family Herpestidae. It is the only member of the genus ''Ichneumia''. Taxonomy ''Herpestes albicaudus'' was the scientific name proposed by Georges Cuvier in 1829 ...

Black-backed jackal The black-backed jackal (''Lupulella mesomelas),'' also called the silver-backed jackal, is a medium-sized canine native to eastern and southern Africa. These regions are separated by roughly 900 kilometers. One region includes the southe ...

African civet The African civet (''Civettictis civetta'') is a large viverrid native to sub-Saharan Africa, where it is considered common and widely distributed in woodlands and secondary forests. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2008 ...

Abyssinian hare The Abyssinian hare (''Lepus habessinicus'') is a species of mammal in the family Leporidae. It is almost entirely restricted to the nations of the Horn of Africa, though it extends marginally into eastern Sudan and may also occur in far northern ...

Bohor reedbuck The bohor reedbuck (''Redunca redunca'') is an antelope native to central Africa. The animal is placed under the genus '' Redunca'' and in the family Bovidae. It was first described by German zoologist and botanist Peter Simon Pallas in 1767. T ...

Leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...

Serval The serval (''Leptailurus serval'') is a wild cat native to Africa. It is widespread in sub-Saharan countries, except rainforest regions. Across its range, it occurs in protected areas, and hunting it is either prohibited or regulated in ran ...

Caracal The caracal (''Caracal caracal'') () is a medium-sized wild cat native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and arid areas of Pakistan and northwestern India. It is characterised by a robust build, long legs, a short face, long tufted e ...

s, Grivet monkeys,

Grey duiker The common duiker (''Sylvicapra grimmia''), also known as the grey or bush duiker, is a small antelope and the only member of the genus ''Sylvicapra''. This species is found everywhere in Africa south of the Sahara, excluding the Horn of Afric ...

Klipspringer The klipspringer (; ''Oreotragus oreotragus'') is a small antelope found in eastern and southern Africa. The sole member of its genus and subfamily/tribe, the klipspringer was first described by German zoologist Eberhard August Wilhelm von Zimm ...

Rock hyrax The rock hyrax (; ''Procavia capensis''), also called dassie, Cape hyrax, rock rabbit, and (in the King James Bible) coney, is a medium-sized terrestrial mammal native to Africa and the Middle East. Commonly referred to in South Africa as the das ...

es,

Common warthog The common warthog (''Phacochoerus africanus'') is a wild member of the pig family (Suidae) found in grassland, savanna, and woodland in sub-Saharan Africa. In the past, it was commonly treated as a subspecies of ''P. aethiopicus'', but today th ...

s, and

Olive baboon The olive baboon (''Papio anubis''), also called the Anubis baboon, is a member of the family Cercopithecidae Old World monkeys. The species is the most wide-ranging of all baboons, being native to 25 countries throughout Africa, extending from ...

Birds

The Arsi Mountains National Park consists of 99 bird species under 39 families that are recorded with the blocks. Birds species that are common here includes Helmeted Guineafowl,

Laughing dove The laughing dove (''Spilopelia senegalensis'') is a small pigeon that is a resident breeder in Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and Western Australia where it has established itself in the wild after being released from Perth Zoo in 1898. Th ...

little bee-eater The little bee-eater (''Merops pusillus'') is a bird species in the bee-eater family, Meropidae. They are found in Sub-Saharan Africa. They should not be confused with the little green bee-eater (''Merops orientalis''). Migration is limited to se ...

, Black wood hoopoe,

Eastern grey woodpecker The eastern grey woodpecker also grey-headed woodpecker and mountain gray woodpecker (''Dendropicos spodocephalus'') is a species of bird in the woodpecker family Picidae. It is a resident breeder in eastern Africa. It has a large range and is a ...

Grey-headed sparrow The northern grey-headed sparrow (''Passer griseus''), also known as the grey-headed sparrow, is a species of bird in the sparrow family Passeridae, which is resident in much of tropical Africa. It occurs in a wide range of open habitats, includ ...

, Shining Sunbird, Rüppell's long-tailed starling,

Red-cheeked cordon-bleu The red-cheeked cordon-bleu or red-cheeked cordonbleu (''Uraeginthus bengalus'') is a small passerine bird in the family Estrildidae. This estrildid finch is a resident breeding bird in drier regions of tropical Sub-Saharan Africa. Red-cheeked co ...

Speckled mousebird The speckled mousebird (''Colius striatus'') is the largest species of mousebird, as well as one of the most common. It is found throughout most of Central, Eastern and Southern Africa. Taxonomy The speckled mousebird was formally described in ...

Ring-necked dove The ring-necked dove (''Streptopelia capicola''), also known as the Cape turtle dove or half-collared dove, is a widespread and often abundant dove species in East and southern Africa. It is a mostly sedentary bird, found in a variety of open ha ...

Black kite The black kite (''Milvus migrans'') is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors. It is thought to be the world's most abundant species of Accipitridae, although some populations have ...

, and

Long-crested eagle The long-crested eagle (''Lophaetus occipitalis'') is an African bird of prey. Like all eagles, it is in the family Accipitridae. It is currently placed in a monotypic genus ''Lophaetus''. It is characterized by the feathers making up the shaggy ...

.Bantihun, G., Tadele, S., & Ameha, A. (2020). Avian Diversity in Dilifekar Block, Arsi Mountains National Park, Ethiopia. Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics, 8, 6.

Conservation and threats

Threats to the park include excessive livestock grazing, human-caused fires, and wood collection.

References

{{National Parks of Ethiopia National parks of Ethiopia Protected areas of Oromia Region Protected areas established in 2011 2011 establishments in Ethiopia Ethiopian Highlands Ethiopian montane moorlands