Ethiopian Wolf — Sanetti Plateau Portrait
749.00 د.إ
An Ethiopian wolf on the Sanetti Plateau of the Bale Mountains National Park — the world’s most endangered canid photographed at dawn, its rust-red coat against the afroalpine moorland, Afromontane giant lobelia in the background.
Description
The Ethiopian wolf is the rarest canid in the world — fewer than 500 individuals remain in isolated Afroalpine populations in the Ethiopian highlands, with the Bale Mountains National Park’s Sanetti Plateau holding the largest single population of approximately 250 animals. The wolves are habituated to researchers and allow close approach on foot, enabling lens distances appropriate for portrait photography. This image was made at dawn on the Sanetti Plateau at 3,800 metres altitude — the wolf’s rust-red coat and black-and-white facial markings are at maximum contrast in the early directional light against the golden moorland grass. The giant lobelia plants (Lobelia rhynchopetalum) — some reaching 5 metres — provide the distinctive Afroalpine ecosystem context in the background. Shot at 1/1000 second on a 500mm telephoto from a seated position on the plateau, the wolf is engaged in the rodent-hunting behaviour typical of early morning activity.
