ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES DISTRIBUTION, POPULATION STATUS AND DIURNAL ACTIVITY PATTERN OF BURCHELL’S ZEBRA (Equus burchelli , Gray, 1824) IN YABELLO WILDLIFE SANCTUARY, SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA A Thesis submitted to the School of Graduate Studies of Addis Ababa University in partial fulfillment for the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Biology (Dry land Biodiversity) BY RETA REGASSA June, 2010 APPROVAL SHEET OF THESIS SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES ADDIS ABABA UNVERSITY As Thesis Research advisor, I hereby certify that I have read and evaluated this thesis prepared, under my guidance, by Reta Regassa, entitled Distribution, population status and diurnal activity pattern of Burchelli zebra (Equus burchelli, Gray,1824) in Yabello Wildlife Sanctuary, Southern Ethiopia. I recommend that it can be submitted as fulfilling of the Thesis requirement. Dr. Solomon Yirga _________________ _________________ Advisor Signature Date As member of the Board of Examiners of the M.Sc. Thesis Open Defense Examination, we certify that we have read, evaluated the thesis prepared by Reta Regassa Jetu and examined the candidate. We recommended that the thesis is accepted as fulfilling the Thesis requirement for the Degree of Master of Science in Biology (Dryland Biodiversity). Prof. Balakrishnan M. ___________________ _________________ Examiner Signature Date Dr. Assefa Mebrate_ _________________ __________________ Examiner Signature Date Dr. Dawit Abate __________________ _________________ Chairman Signature Date DEDICATION This work is dedicated to my mother W/ro Zewditu Terefe, whom I owe a lot and my late father Regassa Jetu and my brother Takala Regassa. May the Almighty God grant eternal peace and rest to the soul of my departed father and brother, and health and longer life to my mother. I ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am deeply grateful to my advisor, Dr. Solomon Yirga, for his whole-hearted guidance and encouragement throughout this work. I am indebted to Oromiya Forest and Wildlife Agency, for allowing me to carry out my study in the Yabello Wildlife Sanctuary. I also thank Abaya Woreda Education Bureau for their sponsorship to pursue my study. I wish to express my gratitude to the School of Graduate Studies, Addis Ababa University for providing funds for this research and the Department of Biology for facilitating my work. My thanks also go to the staff of Yabello Wildlife Sanctuary, particularly W/ro Zewditu Dandansa and Ato Aman Dadessa allowing me to use the Sanctuary facilities including a vehicle. I would like to thank all the staff members of Yabello Wildlife Sanctuary for their full-hearted cooperation, particularly Ato Okotu Dida, Ato Sora and Ato Abdullah Mohammed for their extensive assistance in the field work. My special thanks to Alemu Ejeta and his wife for the valuable advice and support they have offered me during the field work. Moreover, I am highly indebted to my friend, Solomon Belete for providing me his Laptop to finish my thesis writing and to Tesfaye Bekele for his moral support and encouragement. A special word of thanks to Borena people who were so kind and willing to supply me with information on the status and distribution of Burchell’s zebra in Yabello Wildlife Sanctuary and also for their support, motivation, constant encouragement, advice, friendship and love. Among many individuals who contributed to the study, I especially wish to extend my sincere appreciation to Dula Waqassa and Guyo for their full cooperation in capturing the study area picture. I would like to extend my thanks to my uncle, Ato Geleta Terefa and his family for supporting me in the field work, without them staying in that area was difficult. I also thank all those who assisted me in one way or the other towards the completion of this work. Finally, I am particularly grateful to my sisters Rawi Regassa, Konse Regassa, Melesu Regassa, Hulagersh Regassa and my brother Tolassa Regassa, for full cooperation and valuable guidance. II TABLE OF CONTENTS page DEDECATION--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS----------------------------------------------------------------------II TABLE OF CONTENTS------------------------------------------------------------------------III LIST OF TABLES--------------------------------------------------------------------------------VI LIST OF FIGURES------------------------------------------------------------------------------VII LIST OF APPENDICES-------------------------------------------------------------------------IX LIST OF PLATES---------------------------------------------------------------------------------X ABSTRACT----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------XI 1. INTRODUCTION-------------------------------------------------------------------------------1 2. LITERATURE REVIEW----------------------------------------------------------------------4 2.1 Burchell’s zebra (E. burchelli) --------------------------------------------------------------4 2.1.1 Taxonomy------------------------------------------------------------------------------4 2.1.2 Description-----------------------------------------------------------------------------6 2.1.3 Distribution-----------------------------------------------------------------------------7 2.2 Ecology and behavior-------------------------------------------------------------------------9 2.2.1 Ecology-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------9 2.2.2 Habitat and home range----------------------------------------------------------------9 2.2.3 Food and foraging---------------------------------------------------------------------10 2.2.4 Social organization--------------------------------------------------------------------11 2.2.5 Communication and perception------------------------------------------------------12 2.2.6 Reproduction and sexual behavior---------------------------------------------------13 2.2.7 Life span/Longevity--------------------------------------------------------------------15 2.2.8 Predators---------------------------------------------------------------------------------15 2.2.9 Survival tactics in the wild------------------------------------------------------------15 2.2.10 Ecosystem roles-----------------------------------------------------------------------16 2.3 Threats and conservation status---------------------------------------------------------------17 3 OBJECTIVES----------------------------------------------------------------------------------19 3.1 General objective----------------------------------------------------------------------------19 3.2 Specific objectives---------------------------------------------------------------------------19 3.3 Research Questions--------------------------------------------------------------------------19 3.4 Significance of the study-------------------------------------------------------------------20 3.5 Beneficiaries of the research---------------------------------------------------------------20 III 4 THE STUDYAREA----------------------------------------------------------------------------20 4.1 Location, size and topography----------------------------------------------------------------20 4.2 Climate-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------21 4. 2.1 Rain fall------------------------------------------------------------------------------------21 4.2.2 Temperature-------------------------------------------------------------------------------22 4.3 Geology and soils -----------------------------------------------------------------------------22 4.4 Vegetation --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------23 4.5 Human population------------------------------------------------------------------------------23 4.6 Land tenure and land use type----------------------------------------------------------------24 4.7 Fauna---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------24 4.8 Water resources---------------------------------------------------------------------------------24 5 MATERIALS AND METHODS-------------------------------------------------------------26 5.1 Data collection---------------------------------------------------------------------------------26 5.2 Population estimation------------------------------------------------------------------------26 5.3 Population size and density------------------------------------------------------------------28 5.4 Age structure and sex ratio-------------------------------------------------------------------29 5.5 Group composition and size-----------------------------------------------------------------29 5.6 Diurnal activity pattern-----------------------------------------------------------------------30 5.7 Distribution and vegetation type utilization------------------------------------------------30 5.7.1 Distribution-------------------------------------------------------------------------------30 5.7.2 Food preference--------------------------------------------------------------------------31 5.7.3 Habitat preference-----------------------------------------------------------------------31 5.8 Data Analyses----------------------------------------------------------------------------------31 6 RESULTS-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------33 6.1 Population estimation-------------------------------------------------------------------------33