Larger Mammals and Birds in the Lowlands and on the Plateau of the Park Daniel Hegglin, Tatjana Good, Gyula Gajdon, Getenet Asmara, Berihun Gebremedhin, Stefan Irnfeld, John Lustenberger, Josef Niederberger 1, Introduction In addition to the data of our team, the other teams of the SMNP-expedition also provided interesting obser- Our team investigated the occurrence of larger mammals vations. We included their data in the list of observed (primates, ungulates, carnivores) and birds of the Simen species, but did not use them for the more detailed ana- Mountain National Park. Until now most of the research lyses on vegetation types and altitudes. The established was done on the plateau of the SMNP (Dunbar, R.I.M. & list of bird species was compared with other lists (Boswall E.P. Dunbar, 1974 c; Nievergelt, 1981). In order to provide & Demment, 1970; Dunbar, R.I.M. & P. Dunbar, 1974 c; further information for a future management plan we Lilyestrom, 1974; Bosmans & Moreaux, 1977) from collected much of our data in the lowlands. the SMNP. 2. Methods All species of larger mammals (ungulates, primates, carnivores) and birds were identified with binoculars or telescopes on the basis of several fieldbooks (birds: Mackworth-Praed & Grant, 1957; Williams, 1973). For each observation of species we noted the date and time of observation, the coordinates of the animals (map: Simen Mountains National Park, 1:25'000, Pro Semien Fundation, 1975), the type of the vegetation in which they were (long- or short-grass area with or without Lobelia, Helichrysum-dominated area, village, rock, field, pasture, forest) and for mammals, if it was a trace or direct observation. For each observation the altitude above sea level was calculated with the help of the Geographical Information System (GIS) at the Institute of Geography, University of Zurich. Almost all data were collected using a transect method along the paths. At times we observed from a viewpoint. The route chosen for this expedition started on the Gich plateau (16-20 January), passed over Chennek (21-23 January) down to the lowlands through Truwata Figure 6.4 a (23-26 January), Dirni (26-29 January), Agidamya (29-30 January), Muchila (30 January-2 February), with a quick trip to Nariya and Jinbar Valley, and ended back in Gich. The team spent two days collecting data in one area and moved camp on the third day to the next area. The observation of birds was more intensive in the low- lands because on arrival at Gich Camp, the first few days were spent acclimatizing and organizing the round-trip. Figure 6.5 a Figure 6.14 a Figure 6.13 Gelada (Theropithecus gelada). Black-and-white colobus (Colobus guereza) were restric- ted to the small forest patches in the lowlands (Figure 6.14; Table 6.2, page 58). The average size of groups was 9.1 individuals. Their highest point of observation was at 2840 metres above sea level. For exact points of obser- vations see Figure 6.1 1. A Golden Jackal (Canis aureus) was heard once near Gich Camp. The Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis) (Figures 6.21 and 6.22) was seen on one occasion and heard on another near Chennek (4200 metres above sea level), and seen near Mesarerya (4353 metres above sea level). Tracks of the Spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) were found in an Erica forest near Kebew and on the path up to the Bwahit. In a field near Muchila a skull of a Caracal (Cara- cal caracal) was found. The Serval (Felis serval), which is known to occur in the SMNP, was not seen during our stay (Figure 6.20). Rock hyrax (Procavia capensis) was seen at Muchila Afaf and on the way to Dirni. A rummaging spot of a Bush pig (Potamochoerus porcus) was found between Amba Ber and Muchila. A Klipspringer (Oreotragus oreotragus, Figure 6.1 7) was sighted above Dirni, seven animals were observed near Kebew and two animals at lmet Gogo. Grimm's duiker (Sylvicapra grimmia, Figure 6.1 9) and Bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus) were both seen once; Figure 6.14 b the former at the Jimbar, the latter in an Erica forest near Black-and-white colobus Kebew. Spines and faeces of Crested porcupine (Hystrix (Colobus guerua). cristata) were found near Chennek. For further informa- tion on the Walia ibex (Capra ibex walie), the Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis) and Klipspringer (Oreotragus oreo- tragus) see above report, Section 5 (page 44). Several authors have reported seeing Anubis as well as Hamadryas baboons in the SMNP, even in situations where they intermingle with Gelada (Crook & Aldrich- Blake, 1968; Muller, 1973). Muller (1 973) reported several groups of Anubis baboons for the same area as we did. The amount of time spent in the lowlands was higher However, there is no evidence of Hamadryas baboons in 1 than the amount spent on the plateau, so that com- the northern lowlands (see Nievergelt, 1981). Crook & parisons between the two altitude categories only show Aldrich-Blake (1 968) suggest that the main range of trends. Nevertheless, the species richness of endemic Hamadryas lies north and east of the Simen Mountains. and other bird species is higher in the areas below 3000 metres above sea level (Table 6.1 ). This emphasizes the On several occasions we could observe Geladas descen- importance of including the lower parts of the SMNP in ding the Dirni trail several hundreds of metres as mentio- the management plan. More research in the lower alti- ned by Kawai (ed., 1979). Thus, it is possible that at least tudes of the park is needed to get a general idea of the single one-male-units or bands split from the herd to fauna situation of the SMNP today. feed in the fields of the lowlands during the harvest. Endemic bird species were found in high (e.g. Figure 6.1 5) While geladas live in open habitats, the Black-and-white as well as in low altitudes making the whole region an colobus depend on the forest. It is astonishing to see important bird area worthy of conservation efforts (accor- how they have adapted to small patches of forest, using ding to the criterias of Ethiopian Wildlife and Natural sometimes just a narrow strip of several metres or small History Society (EWNHS) & Birdlife International). graveyard forests of sixty to eighty metres in diameter. We had the impression that the groups were slightly Birds in forests are more difficult to localize and identify smaller in bushy forests around Muchila than in the areas than those in pastures and fields. For this reason we be- with well developed forests as for example around Dirni. lieve that many bird species in the forest were overlooked. Although it seems that colobus have been living in such Nevertheless, cultivated areas seem to be important bird small and isolated patches of forest for several decades, habitats. On the one hand, this shows that the agricultural their survival is absolutely not guaranteed. use does not only destroy habitats, but create new ones as well. On the other hand, there are many bird species Figure 6.1 5 that rely on the forest for their survival. A multifold land- The endemic Thick-billed raven scape of forest patches and extensive land use in the (Corvus crassirostris) on the Gich plateau. lowlands increases the amount of bird species. For this reason the forest must be kept intact. 4.2 Larger mammals Larger mammals other than Black-and-white colobus, Geladas and Walia ibexes were rarely seen. Maybe our method of continuously moving around was not ideal for the observation of larger mammals. Thus, it was not possible for example to habituate carnivores to carcass- places. However, considering the many teams scattered all over the SMNP, it seems that in general the amount of larger mammals sighted has declined during the last decades. Figure 6.16 Two male Gelada (Theropithecus gelada) grooming each other. Table 6.2 Number of observations of Gelada baboon and Black-and-white colobus groups in the different types of land use. Only observations below 3000 metres above sea level are included. For some of the observations the type of land use is missing (no indication). Specie! forest pasture field village no indication total Gelada baboon 1 2 6 1 6 16 Black-and-white colobus 43 6 2 0 3 54 Table 6.3 Checklist of the birds of the Simen Mountains National Park (SMNP) observed by the authors and systematically ordered according to Urban & Brown (1971). The endemic bird species' names are green; the ((certain species* (see above) are written in hald letters Family .- - - l Ciconiiformes Scopidae 34 Harnrnercop Scopus umbretta Threskiornithidae 45 Wattled ibis Bostrychia canmculata Anseriformes Anatidae 60 African black duck Anas sparsa Falconiformes Accipitridae 84 Black kite Milvus migrans 86 Egyptian vulture Neophron percnopterus 87 LammergeierlBeardedvulture Gypaetus barbatus 88 Hooded vulture Necrosyrtes monachus 90 Ruppel's griffon vulture Gyps rueppellii 92 Lappet-faced vulture Torgos tracheliotus 98 Harrier hawk Polyboroides typus 117 Long-legged buzzard Buteo rufinus 119 Augur buzzard Buteo rufofuscus 122 Tawny eagle Aquila rapax 125 Verreaux's eagle Aquila verreauxii Falconiidae 137 European kestrel Falco tinnunculus 138 Grey kestrel Falco ardosiaceus 140 Red-necked falcon Falco chicquera Galliformes Phasianidae 159 Erckel's francolin Francolinus erckeli 1-i 1-i Gruiformes Turnicidae 167 Botton quail Turnix sylvatica 7 ilv Rnf Nr FI Crir Fir n Charadriiformes Charadriidae 208 Spot-bceasted plover Vanellus melanocephalus Scolopacidae 228 Green sandpiper Tringa ochropus Columbiformes Columbidae 293 White-collared pigeon Columba albitorques 294 Speckled pigeon Columba guinea 297 Pink-breasted dove Streptopelia