Arba Minch University (AMU) Language and Culture Research Institute in collaboration with the Department of History and Heritage Management of College of the Social Sciences and Humanities hosted a Public lecture on "The Discovery of the First Fossil of the Ethiopian Wolf (Canis Simensis)", on June 5, 2023. Click here to see the pictures.
Opening the public lecture, Behailu Merdekios (Associate Professor), Vice President for Research and Community Engagement, said that AMU has graduated some valuable and rare graduates in various professional fields who make significant contributions to the country's growth and development. The newly discovered fossil is significant because it is the earliest known fossil of the Ethiopian wolf, providing important insights into the evolution of the species and its arrival in Ethiopia. He also noted that the discovery could potentially increase the visibility and recognition of AMU as it highlights the contributions of one of its faculty members to a significant scientific discovery.
Director for AMU Language and Culture Research Institute, Dr. Seid Ahmed, said that the event is organized to introduce the findings of this outstanding research to the academic and research staff and postgraduate students of Arba Minch University. According to Dr. Seid, the significant finding of the archeological research team being led by Ethiopian, AMU Affiliate Staff and researcher, Dr. Tegenu Gossa, shows the untouched potential of Ethiopian researchers to deal with high-level and complex researches of such a kind.
Delivering his lecture, Dr Tegenu Gossa, an archeologist from AMU and the Hebrew University, Israel, said, the Ethiopian wolf, a medium-sized carnivore weighing between 12-18 Kgs and has a population of under 500 wolves of which hardly 200 of them are at their reproductive age is one of the most endangered carnivores facing a sever threat of extinction. He further explained that it was in 2017, the jawbone from an ancient wolf was found at the Melka Wakena archeological site in Oromiya Region, West Arsi Zone, Gedab Asasa Woreda highlands; after intensive study of five years on the fossil, the team assured that it is the first fossil of an Ethiopian wolf existed 1.5 million years ago. The discovery provides clear evidence of the Ethiopian wolf's early presence in Africa, he underlined.
Despite the fact that the exact time being not known when the Ethiopian Wolf entered and began to exist first in Ethiopia, the earlier research finding conclusion that claims based on genetic study that Ethiopian Wolf’s existence in Ethiopia doesn’t exceed 100,000 years in late Pleistocene period was the scientific fact accepted for long years and yet no other discoveries have been found in any part of the world; the significance of the research result is that it updates the earlier finding and once more puzzles the research community to re-think about the updated fact, Dr Tegenu notes.
According to Dr. Tegenu, based on the time frame indicated by the fossil, the study further researched and utilized bioclimatic modeling to gain insights into the challenges faced by the Ethiopian wolf throughout its history. The study result revealed that the lineage of Ethiopian wolves faced severe survival challenges, related with the climate during warmer periods which makes the animal climate resilient. Speaking on the future scenarios of the species, he noted that due to existing global warming challenges with the expansion of agricultural areas, the species is at high risk of extinction; urgent conservation efforts are needed to safeguard the Ethiopian wolf’s survival, he suggested.
The study involved 12 researchers from universities in Ethiopia, Italy, Spain and the United States of America and AMU officials, academic and research staff and graduate students were in attendance.
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