Mountain nyala live high up - between 3,000 and 4,000 metres - where the forests are cool and misty even in the middle of the day. They eat leaves, herbs, and the green shoots of mountain plants. Females and their young move together in small groups; the older males spend much of the year on their own.
Their horns are remarkable. They start small when a male is young and grow longer and more spiralled each year. A fully grown male's horns can be over a metre long. The shape is like a twisting screw - graceful, sturdy, and unique to each animal.
Mountain nyala were only properly described by scientists about a hundred years ago. For a long time, almost no one outside Ethiopia knew they existed. Today, the largest group lives in Bale Mountains National Park, where rangers work hard to keep them safe.
They are gentle animals. If they spot you, they will usually freeze in place, watching with big dark eyes, and only then quietly slip back into the trees. Visitors who walk softly in the mist of the Bale Mountains often get to see a mother and her calf walking together through the undergrowth.