Classroom lesson · Wildlife · 🇪🇹 Ethiopia

The Ethiopian wolf

The rarest wolf in the world - only found high up in Ethiopia

A rust-red Ethiopian wolf standing in highland moorland

Photo · Wikimedia Commons

What is it?

The Ethiopian wolf is the rarest wolf in the world. Only about 500 of them are left alive, and they live in just a few mountain areas in Ethiopia - nowhere else on Earth. Scientists, vets and local communities are working hard to protect them.

Tell me more

Ethiopian wolves don't look much like the grey wolves you might have seen in books. They are slimmer, with bright rust-red fur, white legs and a black-tipped tail. They look a bit like a long-legged fox. They live above 3,000 metres - higher than most mountains in Europe.

Unlike most wolves, Ethiopian wolves hunt alone, not in packs. They mostly eat tiny mole-rats - small rodents that pop their heads out of holes in the grassland. A wolf might sit completely still by a hole for ten minutes, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce.

But they still live in family groups. Several wolves - parents, brothers, sisters, aunties and uncles - share a territory and help look after the cubs together. Everyone takes turns playing with the youngsters, bringing them food and watching over them.

There are only about 500 Ethiopian wolves left in the wild. That's why teams of vets, scientists and rangers from Ethiopia and around the world are working together to look after them - vaccinating them against diseases that pet dogs carry, and protecting their mountain home. Every cub born is a victory.

In the classroom

Walk your class through this in 15 minutes.

Talk together

Discussion prompts

  1. 01What might make an animal that lives only in one country extra special and extra fragile?
  2. 02Why is it important that vets and scientists work together with the local community to protect a rare animal?
  3. 03What is one wild animal where you live? What would happen if it became very rare?
Try this

Classroom activity

Draw your own Ethiopian wolf family - several adult wolves, a few cubs, and their high-mountain home. Give each wolf a name and a job (best at hunting, best at babysitting, best at looking out for danger). As a class, share your wolf families and compare them.