Kuni-Muktar Mountain Nyala Sanctuary is a

wildlife sanctuary A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

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 was set up in 1989 through the intervention of the

Zoological Society of London The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is a charity devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats. It was founded in 1826. Since 1828, it has maintained the London Zoo, and since 1931 Whipsnade Park. History On 29 ...

to safeguard a small decreasing population of the critically 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'').

Geography

The sanctuary is located in the

Ahmar Mountains The Ahmar Mountains is a mountain range of the Ethiopian Highlands, located in the eastern Oromia Region of Ethiopia. The range has an average elevation of above sea level. The mountain range is located approximately south of Dire Dawa, fro ...

, the eastward extension 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 . ...

. The reserve consists of two fragmented blocks of upper Afromontane forest near the village of Kuni, with the Muktar Forest lying east of the village and Sobaly-Jelo Forest to the west, between 2300 and 3075 meters elevation.

Mountain nyala

Mountain nyala, endemic to Ethiopia, are that country's biggest and rarest antelope, but also a most prized hunt for a few, the total cost of a photo and a head trophy ranging between US$35,000 and 50,000. Though this animal was reported extinct in the sanctuary by 1996, it was found present in small numbers by a local count in 2002, and an Italian mission confirmed its presence in 2008. The remnant population is estimated at 70-80 by Vigano based on ground observation and counts and at 200 by Evangelista, based on satellite photography and a prediction method. The same mission noted actions by a local hunter to obtain permission to obtain trophies through a strategem. The Ethiopian Environment Protection Authority reportedly began legal action against the hunter in December 2008.Italian Mission report, bibliography
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References

Wildlife sanctuaries of Ethiopia Protected areas of Oromia Region Ethiopian Highlands {{Africa-protected-area-stub