High above the escarpments of northern Ethiopia, where the cliffs of the Simien Mountains cut sharply into the clouds, one of Africa’s most distinctive creatures is slipping toward disappearance. The Walia ibex, a wild goat found nowhere else on Earth, has suffered a dramatic population decline over the past decade - a troubling sign that Ethiopia’s mountain ecosystems are under mounting strain.

A new long-term study has revealed that the ibex population, once a symbol of resilience, is now back on the brink of extinction. Researchers counted 865 individuals in 2015, but by 2024 only around 306 ibexes remained in Simien Mountains National Park - a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the species’ last refuge. Of those, fewer than 250 were mature, breeding adults, meeting the criteria for a Critically Endangered listing on the IUCN Red List.

The Walia ibex has walked this perilous path before. Its conservation status has fluctuated over the decades — from endangered in 1986 to critically endangered in 1996, before improving to endangered in 2008. By 2020, optimistic projections even led to the species being reclassified as vulnerable, after earlier surveys suggested rising numbers. But those forecasts, it turns out, were already outdated when published.

According to Paul Scholte, lead author of the new study and senior adviser to the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority, that overly positive classification may have had unintended consequences. “The recategorization may have affected public awareness about the state of the species,” Scholte told Mongabay by email, noting that optimism at the time outpaced on-the-ground realities.

To uncover why the population crashed so sharply, Scholte and his colleagues interviewed nearly 200 people - from park rangers to local residents. Two intertwined crises stood out: the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2021–2022 conflict in Tigray. The war disrupted park protection and oversight, while the pandemic and instability halted tourism — a vital source of income for local communities that had long supported conservation.

“Reduced tourism revenue eroded the previously positive relationship between communities and park authorities,” the researchers wrote. With fewer resources for enforcement and growing hardship in surrounding villages, poaching resurged. Rangers began finding snares and carcasses again in 2023 and 2024, grim reminders of the pressures closing in on this rare species.

The research team is now calling for urgent action - beginning with re-listing the Walia ibex as Critically Endangered and implementing a comprehensive species action plan. The proposal includes detailed population surveys, individual identification of ibexes, and stronger collaboration with local communities to rebuild trust and stewardship.

For Ethiopia, the fate of the Walia ibex carries deep symbolic weight. The animal, often depicted in national tourism materials and cherished as an emblem of the country’s highland wilderness, represents more than biodiversity — it reflects how people and nature can coexist in times of upheaval.

If immediate conservation efforts succeed, the ibex could once again become a beacon of recovery. But without decisive protection, Ethiopia risks losing one of its most iconic species - and with it, a living emblem of the Simien Mountains’ soul.

By Shreya Dasgupta -

conservation

Ethiopia’s iconic Walia ibex faces extinction once again