Yabelo Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area and wildlife sanctuary in southern

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 is located in the

Borena Zone Borena ( Oromo: ''Boorana'') is a zone in Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Borena is named after one of the two major subgroups of the Oromo People. Borena is bordered on the south by Kenya, on the west by the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peop ...

of the

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 Benis ...

west of the town of

Yabelo Yabelo ( om, Yaabeelloo) is a town in southern Ethiopia. An alternative name for this town is Obda, which is also the name of a nearby mountain.Borana National Park Borana National Park (also known as Borena National Park) is a national park in southern Ethiopia. The national park was established in 2017 and is one of Ethiopia's largest protected areas.Nigatu, Tesfaye. (2016). POTENTIALITY ASSESSMENT FOR ECO ...

to the south.

Ecology

Flora

The area of the sanctuary is notable for its red soils which have little organic matter. The general vegetation-type is '' Acacia'' savanna, the major trees being '' A. drepanolobium'' on black cotton soil, and '' A. brevispica'' and '' A. horrida'' on the slopes. There are also patches of ''

Balanites aegyptiaca ''Balanites aegyptiaca'' (also known as the Egyptian balsam) is a species of tree, classified as a member of either the Zygophyllaceae or the Balanitaceae. This tree is native to much of Africa and parts of the Middle East. There are many comm ...

'', and several species of ''

Commiphora The genus of the myrrhs, ''Commiphora'', is the most species-rich genus of flowering plants in the frankincense and myrrh family, Burseraceae. The genus contains approximately 190 species of shrubs and trees, which are distributed throughout the ...

'' and ''

Terminalia Terminalia may refer to: * Terminalia (festival), a Roman festival to the god of boundaries Terminus * ''Terminalia'' (plant), a tree genus * Terminalia (insect anatomy), the terminal region of the abdomen in insects * ''Polyscias terminalia'', a ...

'' at the lower altitudes. The higher parts of the hills were formerly covered with forest dominated by ''

Juniperus procera ''Juniperus procera'' (known by the common English names African juniper, African pencil-cedar, East African juniper, East African-cedar, and Kenya-cedar) is a coniferous tree native to mountainous areas in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. It is ...

'' and '' Olea europaea cuspidata''.

Fauna

Burchell's zebras are known to be abundant within the sanctuary along with small populations of

Gerenuk The gerenuk (; so, garanuug; ''Litocranius walleri''), also known as the giraffe gazelle, is a long-necked antelope found in parts of East Africa. The sole member of the genus ''Litocranius'', the gerenuk was first described by the naturalist ...

Grant's Gazelle Grant's gazelle (''Nanger granti'') is a species of gazelle distributed from northern Tanzania to South Sudan and Ethiopia, and from the Kenyan coast to Lake Victoria. Its Swahili name is ''swala granti''.Beisa oryx The East African oryx (''Oryx beisa''), also known as the beisa is a species of antelope from East Africa. It has two subspecies: the common beisa oryx (''Oryx beisa beisa'') found in steppe and semidesert throughout the Horn of Africa and ...

es, and

Günther's dik-dik Günther's dik-dik (''Madoqua guentheri'') is a small antelope found in arid zones of East Africa. Description Günther's dik-dik is one of the smallest ungulates in Africa, weighing when fully grown. It has a yellowish-gray to reddish-brown c ...

s. The park also provides a suitable habitat for

Beisa oryx The East African oryx (''Oryx beisa''), also known as the beisa is a species of antelope from East Africa. It has two subspecies: the common beisa oryx (''Oryx beisa beisa'') found in steppe and semidesert throughout the Horn of Africa and ...

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. ...

bushpig :''"Bush pig" may also refer to the red river hog. The bushpig (''Potamochoerus larvatus'') is a member of the pig family that inhabits forests, woodland, riverine vegetation and cultivated areas in East and Southern Africa. Probably introduce ...

Ethiopian hare The Ethiopian hare (''Lepus fagani'') is a species of mammal in the family Leporidae. It was first described in 1903, by the British mammalogist Oldfield Thomas. The dorsal pelage is brownish buff, and is finely grizzled with black. The ventral ...

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- ...

, and

warthog ''Phacochoerus'' is a genus in the family Suidae, commonly known as warthogs (pronounced ''wart-hog''). They are pigs who live in open and semi-open habitats, even in quite arid regions, in sub-Saharan Africa. The two species were formerly co ...

. Carnivores including lion, leopard,

cheetah The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized ...

, African wild dog, golden jackal, serval cat, side-striped jackal, spotted hyena, and Olive baboons.

Avifauna

Yabello Wildlife Sanctuary is home to 210 species of birds. Endemic species of birds found in this protected area include

Stresemann's bushcrow Stresemann's bushcrow (''Zavattariornis stresemanni''), also known as the Abyssinian pie, bush crow, Ethiopian bushcrow, or by its generic name ''Zavattariornis'', is a rather starling-like bird, which is currently thought to be member of the cr ...

and

white-tailed swallow The white-tailed swallow (''Hirundo megaensis'') is a small swallow belonging to the family Hirundinidae and is endemic to Oromia, Ethiopia.Gedeon, K., Zewdie, C., & Töpfer, T. (2017). The birds (Aves) of Oromia, Ethiopia – an annotated checkl ...

. Other birds that live within these areas include

Ostrich Ostriches are large flightless birds of the genus ''Struthio'' in the order Struthioniformes, part of the infra-class Palaeognathae, a diverse group of flightless birds also known as ratites that includes the emus, rheas, and kiwis. There ...

es, Short-tailed Larks, Pringle's puffbacks, Northern Grey Tits, Abyssinian Grosbeak Canary, Vulturine Guineafowls, Somali Sparrow, Black-capped Social Weavers, Donaldson Smith's Nightjars, Star-spotted Nightjars, Grey-headed Social Weavers, and Magpie Starlings.

Conservation

Yabelo reportedly suffers from a great deal of

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated ...

, and illegal hunting of the spotted cats and

ostrich Ostriches are large flightless birds of the genus ''Struthio'' in the order Struthioniformes, part of the infra-class Palaeognathae, a diverse group of flightless birds also known as ratites that includes the emus, rheas, and kiwis. There ...

is common. Some ex-servicemen have also settled within the sanctuary boundaries.Federal Republic of Ethiopia,
National Action Programme to Combat Desertification
' (Addis Ababa, 1998), p. 35

Notes

Wildlife sanctuaries of Ethiopia Protected areas of Oromia Region Somali Acacia-Commiphora bushlands and thickets Important Bird Areas of Ethiopia {{National Parks of Ethiopia