The Babile Elephant Sanctuary 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 .
14-582: Encompassing 6,982 km (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. Located near Dakata River valley, the sanctuary presents a landmark to one of
28-461: A field project to help restore the sanctuary's area and legal management which requires attention from both government and the people. This Africa protected areas related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a location in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Erer River The Erer is
42-772: A perennial river of eastern Ethiopia . It rises near the city of Harar , in Harari Region , and flows in a primarily southern direction to its confluence with the Shabelle at 7°33′43″N 42°01′43″E / 7.56194°N 42.02861°E / 7.56194; 42.02861 . This article related to a river in Ethiopia is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Tourism in Ethiopia Tourism in Ethiopia accounted for 5.5% of
56-538: The cities of Axum , Lalibela and Gondar , Harar Jugol walled city, Negash Mosque , in Negash and Sof Omar Caves . Developed in the 1960s, tourism declined greatly during the later 1970s and the 1980s under the Derg . Recovery began in the 1990s, but growth has been constrained by the lack of suitable hotels and other infrastructure, despite a boom in construction of small and medium-sized hotels and restaurants, and by
70-514: The country's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2006, having barely increased 2% over the previous year. The government is proving its commitment and willingness to develop tourism through a number of initiatives. Tourism is a featured component of Ethiopia's Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), which aims to combat poverty and encourage economic development. Tourist destinations include Ethiopia's collection of national parks (including Semien Mountains National Park ), and historic sites, such as
84-460: The effects of drought and political instability. One encouraging aspect is the growing popularity of ecotourism , with significant potential for growth in Ethiopia. Travel retail sales are expected to continue to grow, posting an increase of 7% in 2006 and with a forecast 5% increase in 2007. Sales are driven primarily by expanding interest in ecotourism packages, including adventure travel , trekking and walking safaris that are making up much of
98-816: The most unique lower hoodoos , originated during the Precambrian era , known as the Valley Of Marvels or Dakata's Rock Valley which provide a good attraction for tourists. Babile Elephant Sanctuary provides 237 plant species with 57 families. In addition to its vegetation, the sanctuary is covered in semi-arid areas of dense Acacia woodlands, thick 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
112-516: The remnants of Northeastern African elephants following the loss of 90% of its population in Ethiopia caused by illegal poaching . However, the elephant population of the sanctuary is under critical condition due to habitat loss and illegal poaching. In addition to the effect of elephant population decline, 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
126-643: The sanctuary suffers poor management from the park rangers because of its unfunded effect from training, poverty, and environmental neglect. Conditions at this sanctuary are primitive, and it is not equipped for tourists , but the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has announced plans to remedy this shortcoming. In addition to protecting elephants and restoring the sanctuary's former areas, Born Free Foundation , Elephant Protection Initiative, Elephant Crisis Fund, and Ethiopia Wildlife Conservation Authority set up discussions on developing
140-452: The sanctuary, disrupt elephants' migratory patterns and feeding areas resulting in human-elephant conflict. As a result, the sanctuary lost partial northwestern areas to the illegal settlement with seventy-five percent of land converted to agriculture and land grazing. Invasive plants such as lantana flowers and long-thorn kiawe shrubs start to intoxicate the environment, most likely threatening livestock and wildlife. Despite its establishment,
154-463: The sanctuary. Smaller mammals such as Rock hyraxes , Elephant Shrews , Galagos , Horseshoe bats , Abyssinian hares , Ground squirrels , and Naked mole-rats are common in these habitats. The bird list of 227 species includes the Salvadori's seedeater ( Crithagra xantholaema ), which is endemic to southeastern Ethiopia. From the 1970s-80s, Babile Elephant Sanctuary was established to protect
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#1732786971462168-401: 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. Babile Elephant Sanctuary is home to 36 mammalian species. The sanctuary provides a home to native subspecies of African bush elephant ( Loxodonta africana oleansie ) living in
182-543: The tour operators' revenues. Ethiopia has the following nine UNESCO World Heritage Sites: September 12, 2007 marked the beginning of the year 2000 in the Ethiopian calendar . The Ministry of Culture and Tourism was embroiled in a controversy surrounding a beauty pageant in celebration of the Ethiopian Millennium . Allegedly the ministry failed to pay for promotional services from a UK based company for
196-568: The western areas of the sanctuary with a population of at least 200-300 individuals recorded. 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
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