The E in the name stands for Endemic.
But what is endemic?
When talking about an animal or a plant it simply means: native, or restricted to a certain area.
Well in Ethiopia almost any kind of animal is endemic and that's actually the reason that brought me there...
...but all started with some hiccups...
Ethiopia is passing through a difficult moment politically and in the northern region there has been quite some unrest, and I was traveling to the north, not really to the mentioned area but still north. And this is what made the customs nervous about all the camera gear I was taking with me. Long story short, I flew to the north with only one camera, and the rest was wrapped in plastic in a deposit in Addis.
So, back to the country and my trip, next stop was Gondar, an historical very important city in Ethiopia, but I just landed there and kept on for a few hours drive till the Simien Mountains National park.
Jaw dropping, dramatic landscapes at 3´000 to 4´500 m.s.l. during the drive.
I stayed in the Simien Mountain Lodge, inside the national park, I think its the only lodge inside besides camping. It is stated that its the Highest Lodge in Africa at
3´600+ m.s.l.
and of course with the Highest Bar in Africa
Now to the fun stuff, why Simien? Because of one of my dream Primates, maybe the ones that fascinated me the most:
The Gelada baboon.
also called the bleeding heart baboon or Lion Baboons is a primate living on this Mountain range in Ethiopia, and only here. Besides their mean look, the Geladas are extremely friendly, or is better to say, they don't care about your presence. I stayed hours walking with them, and sitting next to them while they were foraging, and taking care of their flees :)
Geladas, was one of my dream animals to see in the wild. These primates have some unique facts: Gelada is the only primate that grazes on grasses and seeds by sitting on the ground while pulling the grass out with their hands; they express emotions by flipping their lips, raising their eyebrows, displaying their red chest; Gelada has the most complex vocalization of all primates being a viable for speech evolution in human kind. The frequency and the changing tonality of their vocalizations are the same as the human speech.
Gelada can only be found in this region of Ethiopia, living on steep cliffs during the night due to predators such as Hyenas or Leopards. Currently listed by the #iucnredlist as least concerned, but numbers are decreasing, mostly by habitat loss due to agriculture.
Next on my Wishlist was another speciality of this region, actually a subspecies of a very common inhabitant of the European alps.
The Walia Ibex.
Not only this Ibex is Endemic only to this region but its also critical endangered due to habitat loss and poaching.
There are estimated only 500 individuals in the wild.
A Very common Endemic bird came up to me 5 minutes after we stopped for our lunch break,
in front of a beautiful view of the valley beneath us.
The thick Billed Raven, is endemic to the Horn of Africa, ranging from Eritrea to Somalia and of course Ethiopia. Very common, and since they know where tourist stop, usually very easy to come across, they know they can find some leftovers.
After 4 nights in this breathtaking landscape and national park, sleeping under clear skies full of stars, I went back to Addis, in hope of getting back my equipment before heading to the south...
...will be continued
ความคิดเห็น