Babile Elephant Sanctuary
| Babile Elephant Sanctuary | |
|---|---|
 The Valley Of Marvels | |
  Location in Ethiopia | |
| Location | Oromia Region, Ethiopia |
| Nearest city | Harar |
| Coordinates | 8°45′N 42°38′E / 8.750°N 42.633°E |
| Area | 6,982 km2 (2,696 sq mi) |
| Established | 1970 |
| Governing body | Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority (EWCA) |
The Babile Elephant Sanctuary [2] is a protected area and wildlife sanctuary in eastern Ethiopia. It is located in Babille district, East Hararghe Zone of Oromia Region, which lies 560 km east of Addis Ababa and 40 km south of Harar.
Geography
Encompassing 6,982 km2 (2,696 sq mi), the sanctuary embraces the valleys of the Erer, Dakata and Fafen as well as the Gobele and Borale rivers; all are tributaries of the Shabelle River. Elevations range from 1000 to 1750 meters above sea level, with the lowest elevations at the southern part of the protected area.[3] Located near Dakata River valley, the sanctuary presents a landmark to one of the most unique lower hoodoos known as the Valley Of Marvels or Dakata's Rock Valley which provide a good attraction for tourists.[4]
Wildlife
Flora
Babile Elephant Sanctuary provides 237 plant species with 57 families.[5] In addition to its vegetation, the sanctuary is covered in semi-arid areas of dense Acacia woodlands, dense scrublands, closed savannahs, evergreen shrubs, and widespread cactus areas. The woody species such as umbrella thorn acacia, Dwarf Euphorbia, thorny acacia, Acacia etbaica, Egyptian balsam, Prickly pear, Balanites glabra, Bird plum, Snuff-box tree, Toothbrush tree, and Tamarind that accounted for only 1.4% of the total density which are considered near threatened. Even though prickly pear cactuses are invasive to Ethiopia since the 18th century, they are considered sustainable for elephants to feed during arid conditions. [6]
Fauna
Babile Elephant Sanctuary is home to 36 mammalian species including rodents, bats, primates, carnivorans, and artiodactyls. It was created for the protection of the native African bush elephant subspecies (Loxodonta africana oleansie). It is estimated that at least 200-300 elephants live there and are under critical conditions for their population. Other mammals living in the sanctuary include the Hamadryas baboon, Günther's dik-dik, Bohor reedbuck, Phillip's dik-dik, Menelik's bushbuck, Soemmerring's gazelle, warthog, greater kudu, and lesser kudu. Carnivores such as lion, leopard, Spotted hyena, Striped hyena, Rusty-spotted genet, White-tailed mongoose, Dwarf mongoose, and Black-backed jackal are regularly observed within the sanctuary. Smaller mammals such as Rock hyraxes, Elephant Shrews, Galagos, Horseshoe bats, Ground squirrels, and Naked mole-rats are common in these habitats.[7]
The bird list of 227 species includes the Salvadori's seedeater (Crithagra xantholaema), which is endemic to southeastern Ethiopia.[8]
Conservation
Threats
From the 1970s-80s, Babile Elephant Sanctuary was established to protect the remnants of Northeastern African elephants following the loss of 90% of its population in Ethiopia caused by illegal poaching. In addition to the effect of elephant population decline and habitat loss, researchers discovered that human activities such as illegal farming, ethnic conflict, overgrazing of livestock, and deforestation caused by local settlement of pastoralists and farmers, who lived within the sanctuary, disrupt elephants' migratory patterns and feeding areas resulting in human-elephant conflict, and illegal poaching. Invasive plants such as lantana flowers and long-thorn kiawe shrubs start to intoxicate the environment, most likely threatening livestock and wildlife.[9][10][11]
Visitor accommodations and Reconstruction plans
Conditions at this sanctuary are primitive, and it is not equipped for tourists,[12] but the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has announced plans to remedy this shortcoming. Despite its establishment, the sanctuary suffers poor management from the park rangers because of its unfunded effect from training, poverty, and environmental neglect. In addition to protecting elephants and restructuring the sanctuary, Born Free Foundation, Elephant Protection Initiative, Elephant Crisis Fund, and Ethiopia Wildlife Conservation Authority set up plans by developing a field project to help restore the sanctuary's area and legal management which requires attention from both government and the people.[13]
References
- ^ UNEP-WCMC (2022). Protected Area Profile for Babile Elephant from the World Database of Protected Areas. Accessed 28 February 2022. [1]
- ^ Seifu, Mesfin; Beyene, Fekadu (December 2014). "Local livelihoods and institutions in managing wildlife ecosystems: The case of Babile Elephant Sanctuary in Ethiopia". Journal for Nature Conservation. 22 (6): 559–569. doi:10.1016/j.jnc.2014.08.013.
- ^ "BirdLife IBA Factsheet: Babile Elephant Sanctuary", Birdlife International website (accessed 31 August 2009)
- ^ Teshale T (2020) Tourism Potentials and Challenges of the Somali Region, Ethiopia. J Tourism Hospit 9:447.
- ^ Belayneh, Anteneh. (2013). Anteneh Belayneh et al.,.
- ^ Biru, Y.; Bekele, A. (2011). "Food habits of African elephant (Loxodonta africana) in Babile Elephant Sanctuary, Ethiopia". Tropical Ecology. 53 (1): 43–52.
- ^ Lavrenchenko, L.A.; Kruskop, S.V.; Bekele, A.; Belay, G.; Morozov, P.N.; Ivlev, Y.F.; Warshavsky, A.A. (5 August 2011). "Mammals of the Babille Elephant Sanctuary (Eastern Ethiopia)". Russian Journal of Theriology. 9 (2): 47–60. doi:10.15298/rusjtheriol.09.2.01.
- ^ "Babille Elephant Sanctuary – Addis Herald". Retrieved 2020-11-06.
- ^ Geleta, Taye Lemma; Mengesha, Girma (2022). "Study on Human–elephant (Loxodonta africana,Blumenbach, 1797) conflict, prevention and mitigation in Babile Elephant Sanctuary, Eastern Ethiopia". International Journal of Scientific and Academic Research. 02 (3): 13–24. doi:10.54756/IJSAR.2022.V2i3.2. S2CID 248205942.
- ^ EWCA and WSD (2010) Management Plan of Babile Elephant Sanctuary. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 216pp.
- ^ Neil, E., & Greengrass, E. (2022). Illegal settlement in the Babille Elephant Sanctuary is threatening the resident elephant population. Oryx, 56(3), 457-464. doi:10.1017/S0030605320001088
- ^ Philip Briggs, Ethiopia: The Bradt Travel Guide, 3rd edition (Chalfont St Peters: Bradt, 2002), p. 367
- ^ Abdulahi, A. (2021). Babille Elephant Sanctuary Needs Attention. Academia Letters. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL788
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