We Found the Rarest Carnivore of Africa

[00:00:00]We're really excited to take you on a journey in Ethiopia.

[00:00:06]>> [music] >> We're Olse and Justin, two biologists with backgrounds in the ecology of endangered wildlife. Driven by our passion for wildlife conservation, we explore remote corners of the world to tell unique stories about extraordinary species by connecting with others and letting the beauty of nature speak for itself. So, join us in Ethiopia on our wildlife adventures.

[00:00:30]Welcome back to our Ethiopian adventure.

[00:00:32]In our last episode, we began our mission to film some of the rarest wildlife species [music] on Earth. We started in Addis Ababa, where we took a local bus to the Bale Mountains in the south. This is where we teamed up with our guide, Ayuba Ahmed. In the grasslands surrounding these mountains, we already witnessed some truly spectacular wildlife, including not one, not even two, but three different servals in one day.

[00:00:57]Today, the real climb begins. As we're pushing our 4x4 higher and higher into the mountains, nearing an altitude of 4,000 [music] m, the highest mountain plateau on the African continent.

[00:01:13]Locals refer to this place as the roof of Africa, where the clouds appear close enough to touch, and the Afro-alpine landscapes look like they [music] belong to another planet, including their inhabitants.

[00:01:28]The further we drove from civilization, the more the world just seemed to stand still.

[00:01:35]Until all of the sudden, Olse asked our driver to stop the car and pointed at the very reason we came all this way.

[00:01:42]Meet Africa's most endangered carnivore, the Ethiopian wolf.

[00:01:48]>> [music] >> We're living a dream. This This isn't it? We're now seeing if we can get a little closer.

[00:01:59]>> [music] >> Somebody approaching.

[00:02:04]And getting closer.

[00:02:06]Something there.

[00:02:07]>> [music] >> Wow.

[00:02:10]>> You're looking at two of the last 450 in the wild, making them the rarest canid on [music] our entire planet.

[00:02:16]>> They are using their scent to smell of the rodent that is near the water.

[00:02:25]>> [music] >> This was just an absolutely spectacular welcome to the Sanetti Plateau. And we watched as the wolves marked their territory, which is a crucial behavior for Ethiopian wolves, because they use this urine to make a complex map with which they can navigate through the vast landscapes of their habitat. Eventually, they decided to try their hunting luck elsewhere, so we watched as they faded away into the landscape with a strong sense that this wouldn't be our final encounter with the wolves of the Bale Mountains.

[00:03:08]>> This is what it's all about.

[00:03:10]Shout out to Habuba. Like the best guide. If you go to Bale Mountains, get [music] in contact with him.

[00:03:17]>> You're the best.

[00:03:18]>> My pleasure.

[00:03:19]>> We'll see more.

[00:03:21]What a blessing. You guys said you want to see a lot more, so that's very possible.

[00:03:25]>> Blessing.

[00:03:25]>> Yeah, no problem.

[00:03:27]>> Back to camp, I assume?

[00:03:28]>> What is that?

[00:03:29]>> That's surreal, right? Instantly, [laughter] we're on the plateau, there's wolves. It's crazy.

[00:03:39]>> We've reached Sodota.

[00:03:44]>> Our camp [music] for the coming days.

[00:03:49]>> This is the place until you say, "Okay, you guys, it's enough. We see enough wolf. We want to go back.

[00:03:54]>> [laughter] >> We want to miss you." Until you say that, you're not move from this place.

[00:03:58]>> Yeah, we'll stay.

[00:03:58]>> Why not 1 month?

[00:03:59]>> Yeah, we'll stay here.

[00:04:00]>> When everything is okay, you'll see a lot of wolf and then we go.

[00:04:06]>> We just arrived at the Sedota camp. It's It's like you're on another planet. It's hard to convey this landscape through video. Just being in it, being surrounded [music] by these mysterious plants and creatures is magnificent. And of course, our dream came true. We could have never imagined while planning this that on the first day we would see the Ethiopian wolf. It was amazing.

[00:04:29]We actually saw them hunting for a bit.

[00:04:31]Not that serious, but they were just For now, we're just going to settle down.

[00:04:35]The altitude is quite high again. So, we need to get accustomed to it and take it slowly. We're about like 3,600 [music] m right now. So, that's quite a lot for these poor Dutch brains.

[00:04:46]>> Who live below the sea [laughter] level.

[00:04:48]>> Minus two, man.

[00:04:49]>> Our error.

[00:04:53]>> The tranquility on the plateau is just [music] profound.

[00:04:58]Next to our camp stood the house for the EWCP, Ethiopian [music] Wolf Conservation Project. They're dedicated entirely to saving the Ethiopian wolf from extinction, but when we get back to Addis Ababa, we'll learn more about this in an interview [music] with their program coordinator who'll tell us all we need to know about their efforts to protect [music] this wolf.

[00:05:16]The cabin itself was a treasure trove of wildlife history filled with fascinating artifacts including some very interesting skulls. For a little while, we browsed through all the photography books until we couldn't help but notice the high-pitched squeaks piercing through the cabin walls. We stepped out to investigate only to find the peculiar creature, the giant molerat.

[00:05:39]>> This is a delicious food for wolf.

[00:05:42]It is in the Mequanit plateau. You find only in here.

[00:05:45]>> Unlike most molerats that never leave their tunnels, the giant mole rat is a bit of a rebel.

[00:05:50]It frequently pokes its head out of its burrow to feed on surrounding herbs and grasses to fuel their large bodies of sometimes up to 1 kg. Living in these harsh ecosystems, they need this size to stay warm and to provide the muscle power needed to shuffle through the rocky soil. Still, they remain highly alert at all times to stay safe from predators like the Ethiopian wolf.

[00:06:12]>> During the dry season, they're more spread out over the area. But the density of the giant mole rats is incredibly high.

[00:06:22]>> With our camp established and a [music] moment of peace behind us, it was time to head back into the field.

[00:06:31]And not much later, we even ran into a familiar species >> [music] >> of which we have long lost our credibility in expressing its rarity to you. The serval.

[00:06:54]Just like our previous [music] serval sightings here, in the blink of an eye, it vanished.

[00:06:59]>> Serval season.

[00:07:01]>> [laughter] >> Unbelievable.

[00:07:03]>> You don't believe it?

[00:07:04]>> Yeah.

[00:07:04]>> We've been blessed by the serval gods, I think.

[00:07:09]Be nice people.

[00:07:10]>> You are not that like >> Where is it? Where is it that you Where is it? Where is >> Sometimes the people make you stressed.

[00:07:14]They also make themselves too stressed.

[00:07:16]I think that when you will be easy >> All of that makes sense, yeah.

[00:07:19]>> Yeah. That's why we believe in that.

[00:07:21]>> Yeah, beautiful.

[00:07:22]>> I never seen that someone see the [music] serval cat like this.

[00:07:26]I see many times.

[00:07:27]>> Yeah.

[00:07:28]>> So, let's make a new task to just have fun together and not to see the maximum we can.

[00:07:33]>> Just let's have fun.

[00:07:34]>> Yes, yes, yes. I like that.

[00:07:35]>> Do it. Let's do it, boys.

[00:07:41]>> [music] >> And our new mindset seemed to pay off almost immediately.

[00:07:44]>> It's all wolf again.

[00:07:46]>> Wow.

[00:07:48]>> [music] >> It's amazing how close you can get to such a rare carnivore and it being so unbothered by a big vehicle like the one we're in right now.

[00:08:00]>> I can't believe it.

[00:08:01]>> She's so close.

[00:08:02]>> She's right there.

[00:08:03]>> She's just hunting and hunting.

[00:08:06]>> [music] >> Other than most wolf [music] species, Ethiopian wolves they hunt alone.

[00:08:23]>> [music] [music] >> Notice the tag on their ear? It's a vital tool for the EWCP [music] to monitor individual wolves and track the health of the pack. However, that small piece of plastic won't keep them from using their ears like precision satellites scanning the vast plains to pinpoint even the slightest movement of their prey.

[00:08:56]>> [music] >> Nothing.

[00:09:13]>> Patience was key.

[00:09:25]But still, there was no prey in sight.

[00:09:28]>> [music] >> Although, just a little further >> [music] >> She wouldn't give up.

[00:09:51]>> [music] [music] [music] [music] >> Swallowed whole in a fraction of a second.

[00:10:27]The wolf retreated into this gorgeous valley. We kept a respectful distance while we [music] silently shadowed its path.

[00:10:46]Watching the wolf disappear into the mountains, [music] it hits you.

[00:10:50]This is not just a species on the verge of extinction. They are the very soul of these Ethiopian highlands.

[00:11:00]And as we headed back, the scale of what we stand to lose became painfully clear.

[00:11:07]Scientists have warned us.

[00:11:09]>> [music] >> Without these apex predators, the entire ecosystem would simply collapse.

[00:11:17]Therefore, [music] saving one species could save many others.

[00:11:21]Like these rock hyraxes [music] on top of the cliffs.

[00:11:25]Or this Abyssinian owl that we could have easily missed on our way [music] back.

[00:11:30]For 1 and 1/2 million years, Ethiopian wolves have thrived in these isolated mountains alongside [music] these species. But centuries of human expansion, as well as domestic diseases, have brought their population down to 450 individuals.

[00:11:45]And now that our [music] footprints are reaching the roof of Africa, their future depends on us.

[00:11:51]And so the question [music] remains, will we learn to coexist, or will we drive the world's rarest canid to the edge? One thing is for certain, being so close [music] to these breathtaking species, yet leaving them so completely unbothered, is an incredible privilege.

[00:12:07]Truly an experience [music] that will stay with us forever.

[00:12:11]>> Wow, it was more beautiful than I had anticipated. Yes.

[00:12:14]>> The colors of the fur are so bright and reddish.

[00:12:17]>> I'm really tired, man. I'm really tired.

[00:12:19]It's [laughter] amazing.

[00:12:21]>> We're going to have some dinner, and then we go to bed. See you tomorrow.

[00:12:30]>> But our adventure in Ethiopia is far from over. In the next episode, we're heading deeper into the mountains for even more incredible encounters [music] with the Ethiopian wolf. Get ready for full packs, incredible behavior, and some of the most [music] jaw-dropping close-up sightings we've ever captured on our channel. So if you want to support our mission to share stories about unique wildlife, make sure to click the subscribe button, leave a like, and drop a comment to help spread the word. Thanks for watching. We hope to catch you in the next one.