Introduction
Ethiopian is characterized by a wide range of edaphic and climate conditions. This creates diverse ecosystems which have their own distinctive climatic conditions, and supports different plant and animals species including various bird species depending up on their habitat requirements (Desalegn and Subramanian, 2015; Tesfahunegnyet al ., 2016; Girma et al ., 2017). Ethiopia is known as the home of 7,000 of higher plant species with 840 (12%) of them are endemics (Tesfahunegny, 2016). The country also possess 2970 described animals species, among them, 320 are mammals with 36 endemics, 926 birds with 24 endemics, 1,249 arthropods with 11 endemics, 200 fish with 40 endemics, 202 reptiles with 17 endemics and 73 amphibians with 30 endemics (Seyoum et al ., 2018). This biological diversity coupled with high number of endemics is associated with unique geological history, diverse climatic and physical conditions and topographical variation of the country (Mengesha and Bekele, 2008; Getahun, 2018).
Mammal inventories are tremendously vital to improve our understanding of their geographical distribution (Melo et al ., 2012). The ecological relevance of mammals, shortage of ecological data and increased human threats make the matter very essential and necessary to evaluate their current conservation status (Wuver and Attuquayefio, 2006). The absence and rarity of these mammals in a given ecosystem have severe consequences in the structure, composition and diversity of forests (Geleta and Bekele, 2016). Hence, surveys of mammalian diversity, abundance and habitat conditions of a particular ecosystem is the first step for conservation action and provide information to establish appropriate conservation strategies (Atnafu and Yihune, 2018). Mammals of Ethiopia are under progressive studies, but the diversity and conservation status of mammalian species outside protected areas are poorly known. (Gonfa et al ., 2015). The under estimated faunal records of the country are only from the protected areas, where they are relatively well preserved (Young, 2012). However, records and conservation status are still poorly known outside these areas (Bekele and Yalden, 2014). The survival of wildlife species outside the protected areas is at high risk (Bekele and Yalden, 2014). Therefore, study of mammals in unprotected areas is equally important even more because of the huge anthropogenic pressures they absorb from their surrounding environments.
Because of anthropogenic impacts, the range of natural ecosystem of the country continually is collapsing (Yosef et al ., 2010). The country had experienced substantial deforestation, soil degradation and an increase in the area of bare land over the years. The need for fuel wood, arable land and grazing areas have been indicated as the main causes of forest degradation; frequently leading to loss of forest cover and biodiversity, erosion, desertification and reduced water resources (Ensermu and Teshome, 2008). This calls for the need to generate relevant information in order to contribute to the conservation, management and sustainable utilization of these forest resources in particular and the biodiversity in general. Knowledge of faunal diversity records, their abundance is basic for status determination and to propose appropriate conservation measure. Most studies conducted so far in the current study area did not attempt to assess the faunal diversity. Therefore, limited information is available on faunal composition and diversity of mammalian species in Yotyet/Yewezera Forest. Furthermore, the forest is under severe anthropogenic impacts. Hence, there is a need for data that would contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of this forest. Thus, species documentation, community identification and description of this forest are important. Faunal exploration is an important component of the study in a given protected area. It helps in understanding the potential of the area in composition and diversity of animals as well as to carryout conservation action for the future. Therefore, the current study is initiated to provide primary information about mammalian species composition, species diversity of Yotyet/Yewezera Forest.