Although Ethiopia has a rich diversity of species, growing human pressure during the last century has caused considerable destruction to different habitats. Many of the national parks and other wildlife conservation areas have been severely damaged by nearby communities and/or business developments.

Wildlife species continue to decline at an alarming rate because of several factors:

• Impact of ever increasing human population
• Expansion of human settlement and land cleared for agriculture
• Lack of conductive mechanisms for public participation in wildlife conservation processes
• Illegal hunting
• Overgrazing resulting from livestock encroachment
• Inadequate financial and logistic support for all conservation areas
• Insufficient current data on wildlife resources
• Inadequate law-enforcement mechanisms
• Low public awareness of the value of wildlife
• Lack of institutional capacity
• Inadequate land use policy

As a result, several species no longer exist in many areas of the country. According to IUCN (2004), a total of 37 species of mammals are threatened as Critically Endangered - 8, Endangered - 4, and Vulnerable - 25 species.