top 10 endangered africa series
silent
shadow
Ethiopian wolf
CRITICALLY Endangered
POPULATION
Only around 500 individuals remain in the wild. The Ethiopian wolf is the rarest wolf on earth.
THE THREAT
They live exclusively in the highlands of Ethiopia, above 3,000 metres, in a world of giant lobelias and open moorland. Their entire existence depends on a single prey species and a single habitat type that is shrinking as agriculture climbs higher up the mountain slopes. Rabies outbreaks introduced by domestic dogs have killed entire packs. Hybridisation with domestic dogs is diluting the gene pool.
about this painting
“Five hundred animals. One ecosystem. No margin for error. I wanted to paint something that looked like it was already disappearing into the landscape; present, but barely. The title came before anything else.”
THE HOPE
The Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme has been running vaccination campaigns and monitoring programmes for decades, holding the line against multiple simultaneous threats. It is one of the most focused species recovery efforts in the world.
LEARN MORE
→ awf.org
Art is the lens. Conservation is the reason.