The Murulle Foundation - Mountain Nyala

In December 2005, John Banovich visited Ethiopia for field research of the mountain nyala - to learn as much as he could about the behavior and biology of the species.

John met The Murulle Foundation researchers in the Bale Mountains National Park to take photographs and observe the mountain nyala's behavior at close range. The company then moved to the Odo Bulu forest on the eastern escarpment where mountain nyala habitat is still largely intact and undisturbed.

The Murulle Foundation is a Colorado-based 501(c) (3) non-profit organization that is actively engaged in scientific research and sustainable conservation of the mountain nyala and critical habitat. The mountain nyala is one of the most highly prized big game species in Africa, and safari hunting plays a vital role in both conservation and management.

In recent years, a few researchers have portrayed a dismal picture of the mountain nyala?s status by greatly underestimating its population and distribution. These claims have caught the attention of conservation groups, resource managers, scientists, and policy makers within Ethiopia and worldwide.

These inaccuracies have fueled anti-hunting sentiments and are aimed to disrupt sustainable management and conservation policies initiated by the Ethiopian Wildlife Department. Not only does this threaten the future of safari hunting of the mountain nyala, it also ultimately threatens the future existence of the species outside protected areas.

Paul Evangelista, who has recently been recognized by the IUCN as one of the world's few authorities on the mountain nyala, has compelling scientific evidence that shows mountain nyala populations have previously been greatly underestimated because the entire range of the species and certain behavioral characteristics were never fully understood. As a result, mountain nyala populations are a lot higher than recent reports have lead authorities to believe.