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.