Bale Mountains National Park (BMNP) is a

national park A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...

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 ...

. The park encompasses an area of approximately in the

Bale Mountains The Bale Mountains (also known as the Urgoma Mountains) are mountain ranges in the Oromia Region of southeast Ethiopia, south of the Awash River, part of the Ethiopian Highlands. They include Tullu Demtu, the second-highest mountain in Ethiopia ...

and

Sanetti Plateau The Sanetti Plateau is a major plateau of the Ethiopian Highlands, in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. The plateau is the highest part of the Bale Mountains, and is located within Bale Mountains National Park.L.J.G. van der Maesen, X.M. van der Bu ...

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 park's

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 of ...

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s have one of the highest incidences of animal

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

ity of any terrestrial habitat in the world. The park was nominated to the

World Heritage Tentative List In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

in 2009.

Geography

Bale Mountains National Park is located in southeastern

, 400 km southeast of

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...

and 150 km east of Shashamene in the Oromia Region National State. The boundary of the BMNP lies within five

woredas Districts of Ethiopia, also called woredas ( am, ወረዳ; ''woreda''), are the third level of the administrative divisions of Ethiopia – after '' zones'' and the '' regional states''. These districts are further subdivided into a number of ...

(districts): Adaba (west), Dinsho (north),

Goba Goba ( Oromo: ', Amharic: ጎባ) is a town and separate woreda located in the Bale Zone of the Oromia Region, Ethiopia approximately 446 km southeast of Addis Ababa, this city has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation of 2,743 meters ...

(northeast), Delo-Mena-Angetu and Harena-Buluk (southeast). The park area is encompassed within geographical coordinates of 6º29' – 7º10'N and 39º28' – 39º57'E. The Bale Mountains are part of the Bale-Arsi massif, which forms the western section of the southeastern

Hydrology

The Bale Mountains play a vital role in climate control of the region by attracting large amounts of

orographic Orography is the study of the topographic relief of mountains, and can more broadly include hills, and any part of a region's elevated terrain. Orography (also known as ''oreography'', ''orology'' or ''oreology'') falls within the broader disci ...

rainfall, which has obvious implications for livestock and agricultural production. Some 600 - 1,000 mm fall annually in the lower altitude areas, while 1,000 - 1,400 mm fall in areas of higher altitude, and over 12 million people from Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia are dependent on water from the Bale massif. A total of 40 rivers rise in the BMNP area, contributing to five major rivers: the

Web Web most often refers to: * Spider web, a silken structure created by the animal * World Wide Web or the Web, an Internet-based hypertext system Web, WEB, or the Web may also refer to: Computing * WEB, a literate programming system created by ...

, Wabe Shebele, Welmel, Dumal and Ganale. Additionally, the Bale massif is the source for many springs in the lowlands, which are of paramount importance as they are the only source of water year-round. People living south of the national park are completely dependent on good management of the water resources from the highland areas. If the flow of these rivers is altered in any way – through deforestation,

overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature res ...

of pastures and/or over abstraction for irrigation (all of which are occurring at present) – a highland/lowland imbalance results with loss of perennial water in the lowlands. If such a situation arises, the dry season range of the people and their livestock reduces dramatically and they concentrate about whatever water source remains. It is widely recognized that such uneven distribution of people and livestock leads to rapid and lasting degradation. The people are, therefore, likely to become increasingly food-aid dependent if the water catchment areas of the Bale Mountains are insufficiently protected. There is already evidence that over abstraction of water in the Bale Mountains is occurring. Furthermore, two rivers emanating from Bale, the Wabe Shebele and Yadot, (tributary of the Ganale) have hydroelectric schemes. The dam on the Yadot River supplies electricity to Delo-Mena, while the dam on the Wabe Shebele provides electricity to the Bale area. Lastly, there are numerous natural mineral water springs, locally called horas, which provide an essential source of minerals for livestock. The mineral springs within the park are valued for their high mineral content (

sodium Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na (from Latin ''natrium'') and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 of the periodic table. Its only stable ...

potassium Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K (from Neo-Latin '' kalium'') and atomic number19. Potassium is a silvery-white metal that is soft enough to be cut with a knife with little force. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmos ...

magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ...

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

, and

calcium Calcium is a chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar ...

), and local pastoralists believe that in order to maintain good health and milk production their livestock must be given hora water. They will drive their livestock for up to two days to reach the hora springs. It is increasingly apparent, however, that the hora springs have become an excuse for local people to enter the park to gain access to better grazing areas. Harenna Forest (16326658665)

Climate

Temperatures vary widely throughout BMNP: on the plateau, daytime temperatures are usually around 10 °C (50 °F) with strong winds; in the Gaysay Valley average daytime temperatures are around 20 °C (68 °F), and the Harenna Forest is around 25 °C (77 °F). However, the weather changes frequently and sometimes drastically. In elevations over 3,000 meters, night frosts are common. The rainy season is from May until November. Harenna Forest (16332646362)

Ecology

Habitats

The park is divided into five distinct and unique habitats: the Northern Grasslands (Gaysay Valley), Northern Woodlands (Park Headquarters), Afro-alpine Meadows (Sanetti Plateau), Erica Moorlands, and the

Harenna Forest The Harenna Forest is a montane tropical evergreen forest in Ethiopia's Bale Mountains. The forest covers the southern slope of the mountains, extending from 1450 to 3200 meters elevation. The Bale Mountains are in Ethiopia's Oromia Region, and f ...

. Habitats of the Bale Mountains National Park range from grassland areas around in elevation, to Mount Tullu Demtu, the second highest point in Ethiopia at above sea level. Surrounded by East African pencil juniper (''Juniperus procera'') trees and St. John’s wort, waist-high wildflowers and grasses grow in the Northern Grasslands and Woodlands. Tree heath (''Erica arborea'') is native to the

Ethiopian montane moorlands The Ethiopian montane moorlands is a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion in Ethiopia. It lies above 3,000 meters elevation in the Ethiopian Highlands, the largest Afroalpine region in Africa. The montane moorlands lie above the tree line, ...

ecoregion in the park. The Afro-alpine moorlands of the

is the largest continuous area of its altitude on the entire continent of Africa. Carpeted in

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.Giant lobelia (''Lobelia rynchopetalum'') that grow to heights of up to 12 meters. The Plateau is also dotted with alpine lakes and streams, providing important resident wildlife resources, as well as wintering and passage stations for rare and regionally endemic birds. The

plant community A plant community is a collection or association of plant species within a designated geographical unit, which forms a relatively uniform patch, distinguishable from neighboring patches of different vegetation types. The components of each plant ...

makes up about half of the park, a woodland of trees draped in moss and lichens that seem to drip off the branches. The area is frequently cloaked in fog, and wildlife is elusive.

Flora

The forests of the Bale Mountains are important for genetic stocks of wild forest coffee (''Coffea arabica'') and for medicinal plants in Ethiopia. Three medicinal plant hotspots have been identified: two in the Gaysay area and one in the Angesu area, spanning the park boundary. The female flowers of hagenia contain

anthelmintic Anthelmintics or antihelminthics are a group of antiparasitic drugs that expel parasitic worms (helminths) and other internal parasites from the body by either stunning or killing them and without causing significant damage to the host. They may ...

, which is used to treat tapeworms among the local populations.

Fauna

Canis simensis Bale Mountains National Park 8 (colourised)

The Bale Mountains National Park is an important area for several threatened Ethiopian

endemic species Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

. Additionally, the park holds 26% of Ethiopia's endemic species including one primate, one bovid, one hare, eight rodent species, and the entire global population of the

big-headed African mole-rat The big-headed African mole rat, (''Tachyoryctes macrocephalus''), also known as the giant root-rat, Ethiopian African mole rat, or giant mole rat, is a rodent species in the family Spalacidae. It is endemic to Ethiopia's Bale Mountains. Its nat ...

. There are also several rare and endemic amphibians.

Mammals

Mammal species in the Bale Mountains National Park include

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''),

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, common duiker,

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 Zim ...

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 ...

Ethiopian highland hare The Ethiopian highland hare (''Lepus starcki'') or Starck's hare is a medium-sized species of mammal in the rabbit and hare family, Leporidae. Its dorsal pelage is grizzled, buff white and spotted and streaked with black, while its belly fur is ...

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 con ...

spotted hyena 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 ...

, serval, and the Bale Mountains vervet (''Chlorocebus djamdjamensis''). Other mammals of Bale Mountains National Park located in Harenna forest include the African golden wolf,

Giant forest hog The giant forest hog (''Hylochoerus meinertzhageni''), the only member of its genus (''Hylochoerus''), is native to wooded habitats in Africa and is generally considered the largest wild member of the pig family, Suidae; however, a few subspecie ...

Mantled guereza The mantled guereza (''Colobus guereza''), also known simply as the guereza, the eastern black-and-white colobus, or the Abyssinian black-and-white colobus, is a black-and-white colobus, a type of Old World monkey. It is native to much of west ...

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adu ...

African leopard The African leopard (''Panthera pardus pardus'') is the nominate subspecies of the leopard, native to many countries in Africa. It is widely distributed in most of sub-Saharan Africa, but the historical range has been fragmented in the course of ...

, and

African wild dog The African wild dog (''Lycaon pictus''), also called the painted dog or Cape hunting dog, is a wild canine which is a native species to sub-Saharan Africa. It is the largest wild canine in Africa, and the only extant member of the genus '' Lyca ...

. Almost one-third of the 47 mammals that live in BMNP are

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are n ...

s. The rodent community, particularly of the Afro-alpine plateau are keystone species in the Bale Mountains National Park. They are the main prey for Ethiopian wolves, and natural grazers of the Afro-alpine areas were important

cryoturbation In gelisols ( permafrost soils), cryoturbation (frost churning) refers to the mixing of materials from various horizons of the soil down to the bedrock due to freezing and thawing. Cryoturbation occurs to varying degrees in most gelisols. The c ...

processes happen.

Avifauna

The Bale Mountains are home to over 282 species of birds, including nine of the 16 species endemic to Ethiopia. Furthermore, over 170 migratory birds have been recorded within the park. Bale Mountains National Park is home to almost every highland Abyssinian and Ethiopian endemic. With over 863 species of birds recorded, representing approximately 9.5% of the world's bird diversity and 39% of the bird species in Africa, Ethiopia is often considered one of the most avifaunal-rich countries in Africa. Sixteen of Bale's bird species are endemic to Ethiopia. Due to the diversity and density of rodents, the Bale Mountains are also an extremely important area for residents as well as wintering and passing raptors. Ethiopian endemic birds in Bale Mountains include blue-winged goose (''Cyanochen cyanoptera''), spot-breasted lapwing (''Vanellus melanocephalus''), yellow-fronted parrot (''Poicephalus flavifrons''),

Abyssinian longclaw The Abyssinian longclaw (''Macronyx flavicollis'') is a species of bird in the family Motacillidae. It is endemic to Ethiopia. Habitat The bird's natural habitats are subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland of the Ethiopian Highland ...

(''Macronyx flavicollis''),

Abyssinian catbird The Abyssinian catbird or juniper babbler (''Sylvia galinieri'') is a species of bird in the family Sylviidae. (It is unrelated to other birds with the common name catbird). It is endemic to Ethiopia where it is found in highland forest and scru ...

(''Parophasma galinieri''), Bale parisoma (''Parisoma griseiventris''),

Ethiopian siskin The Ethiopian siskin or Abyssinian siskin (''Serinus nigriceps'') is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae. It is found only in Ethiopia, usually at altitudes above in the Ethiopian Highlands. The bird's natural habitat is subtrop ...

(''Serinus nigriceps''), fawn-breasted waxbill (''Estrilda paludicola''), and the Abyssinian owl (''Asio abyssinicus'').

Herpetofauna

Ethiopian rare endemic reptiles that are newly discovered in the Bale Mountains forested areas include Ethiopian House snake (''Lamprophis erlangeri''), Ethiopian mountain adder (''Bitis parviocula''), Bale two-horned chameleon (''Trioceros balebicornutus''), Harenna hornless chameleon (''Trioceros harennae''), Beardless Ethiopian montane chameleon (''Trioceros affinis''), and Wolfgang Böhme's Ethiopian Chameleon (''Trioceros wolfgangboehmei''). At least 7 species of endemic Amphibians are discovered in forested swampy areas and Bale Mountains National park plateaus. Ethiopian burrowing tree frog (''Leptopelis gramineus''), Erlanger's Grassland frog (''Ptychadena erlangeri'') and Neumann's Grassland frog (''Ptychadena neumanni'') are commonly rare within these habitats. However, other amphibians species lives within the areas of Bale Mountains such as Bale Mountain Frog (''Ericabatrachus baleensis''), Ethiopian banana frog (''Afrixalus enseticola''), Ragazzi's tree frog (''Leptopelis ragazzii''), Kouni Valley striped frog (''Paracassina kounhiensis''), Malcolm's Ethiopian toad (''Altiphrynoides malcolmi''), Osgood's Ethiopian toad (''Altiphrynoides osgoodi''), and Bale Mountains tree frog (''Balebreviceps hillmani'') are considered to be endangered because of habitat loss and deforestation.Saber, Samy & Kassahun, Roman & Loader, Simon & Kafrawy, Sameh. (2019). Amphibian diversity in relation to environmental change in Harenna Forest, Bale Mountains National Park, Ethiopia: A Remote sensing and GIS Approach. Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries. 23. 139-149. 10.21608/ejabf.2019.40420.

People of Bale

The people of the region are dominantly Oromo-speaking farmers and cattle herders. The population of the entire Bale Zone is approximately 1.5 million. Afan Oromo is the official language of

Oromia 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 Be ...

. It belongs to the

Cushitic languages The Cushitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are spoken primarily in the Horn of Africa, with minorities speaking Cushitic languages to the north in Egypt and the Sudan, and to the south in Kenya and Tanzania. As ...

, and serves as a sort of

lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...

for over 25 million Oromos. However, most people in Bale Mountains speak some

Amharic Amharic ( or ; (Amharic: ), ', ) is an Ethiopian Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amharas, and also serves as a lingua franca for all oth ...

. The predominant religion in the Bale Mountains is Muslim (77%), followed by Orthodox Christian (20%) and Protestant (1%). The Bale Mountains are the true ancestral home of the Oromo, the largest single ethnic group in the Horn of Africa. Living as pastoralists and farmers, the population grew quite quickly and expanded to different corners of the country beginning in the 16th century. Little is known about the Oromo people of the area and how they came to be there. They are part of the eastern Cushitic people stemming from a branch of the Caucasoid race (which includes Western Asians, Arabs and Europeans), and are distributed from

Wello Wollo (Amharic: ወሎ) was a historical province of northern Ethiopia that overlayed part of the present day Amhara, Afar, and Tigray regions. During the Middle Ages this region was known as Bete Amhara and had Amhara kings. Bete Amhara had ...

in Ethiopia's north, to

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town ...

in Kenya to the south. Some 3,000 years ago, they passed on practices such as the initiation ceremony of circumcision and the habit of not eating fish to Nilotic peoples in the West. Furthermore, they incorporated the ideas of the

Gadaa Gadaa ( om, Gadaa; literally: era) is the indigenous democratic system of governance used by the Oromos in Ethiopia and northern Kenya. It is also practiced by the Konso and Gedeo people of southern Ethiopia. The system regulates political, eco ...

system and cattle husbandry into their own society. The

system is based on the principles of classifying a society into 11 functional grades, each of which has its special roles and statuses. Currently, people subsist mainly on agriculture. They follow a traditional

transhumance Transhumance is a type of pastoralism or nomadism, a seasonal movement of livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. In montane regions (''vertical transhumance''), it implies movement between higher pastures in summer and lower val ...

system known as the Godantu system, a key feature of traditional human use of the Bale Mountains. In this system, livestock, particularly cattle, are sent to higher grazing grounds during the months when crops are growing in lower altitudes or into the forest for shade during the dry season. However, this should not be confused with the cattle movements that are a consequence of the loss of grazing land outside of the park, thus forcing cattle into the park to graze. Bale houses are circular in shape and locally referred to as “mana citaa”. Juniper and sometimes eucalyptus are used to make the walls and roof. The roof is covered with thatched grass cut from “citaa” (tussock grass) or stubble, especially barley, and supported by a wooden pillar, which stands in the middle of the floor. The house is divided into portions by walls made of bamboo or mud mixed with the stubble of barley or grass.

Threats

Bale Mountains National Park is faced with many threats associated with an ever-developing and increasingly populated Ethiopia. One of the biggest threats to the park is grazing. For example, within the Web Valley, a prime Ethiopian wolf habitat, cattle density is estimated at 250 per square kilometer. Other threats include increasing settlements within the park. Currently, over 40,000 people live within the park's boundaries, increasing pressure on the natural resources of the area and diminishing natural habitats of wild animals. With these settlements come domestic dogs, which pose a great threat to the Ethiopian wolf. Dogs transmit rabies and canine distemper, and in 2010 killed 106 individuals (approximately 40% of the Bale population of Ethiopian wolves). Other serious threats include the use of the wolf habitat by livestock for grazing which significantly reduces the availability of rodent prey. Over 12 million people, their livestock, and the environment in the south of Ethiopia as well as neighboring

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constitut ...

and northern

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

rely on the water that originates from the Bale massif. Unsustainable use and pollution are major threats. Conservationists suggest that if conservation efforts in the Bale Mountains are not successful and people continue to exploit the resources in an unsustainable way, more species of mammal would go extinct than in any other area of equivalent size on the planet.

References

External links

Balemountains.org: Bale Mountains National ParkCall from the Wild.org: Bale Mountains National Park
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070607172551/http://addistribune.com/Archives/2001/07/20-07-01/National.htm Addis Tribune.com: The National parks of Ethiopia − Bale Mountains Park (Part II: Harena Forest)]
Black-maned lion in Ethiopia
{{authority control National parks of Ethiopia Bale Mountains, • Ethiopian Highlands Protected areas of Oromia Region Protected areas established in 1969 1969 establishments in Ethiopia Important Bird Areas of Ethiopia Ethiopian montane moorlands