| Bale Mountains National Park | |
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IUCN Category II (National Park)
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| Location | Bale Zone, Oromia Region, Ethiopia |
| Area | 2220 km² |
| Established | 1970 |
The Bale Mountains National Park is a national park in the Oromia Region of southeast Ethiopia. Created in 1970, this park covers about 2,200 square kilometers of the Bale Mountains to the west and southwest of Goba in the Bale Zone. Within its boundaries are some of the highest points in Ethiopia, which include Mount Batu.
Bale Mountains contains three distinct ecoregions: the northern plains, bush and woods; the central Sanetti Plateau with an average elevation of over 4000 meters; and the southern Harenna Forest, known for its mammals, amphibians and birds including many endemic species. The central Sanetti Plateau is home to the largest population of the rare and endangered Ethiopian wolves.
The endangered Painted Hunting Dog, Lycaon pictus once existed in the Park (with relict packs reported in the 1990s), but may now be extirpated due to human population pressures in this region.[1]
As with the other National Parks in Ethiopia, Bale Mountains is at risk of local peoples moving inside the boundaries and settling there. In October 2002, it was reported that nearly 20,000 individuals had traveled from the Mirab (West) Hararghe, Misraq (East) Hararghe, and Arsi Zones into the park, where there is fear that their presence will intensify destruction of the environment and increase risks to communicable disease.[2]
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