Introduction: Pastoral livestock share grazing areas and watering points with wildlife around the protected areas in Eastern Africa. This causes a high degree of livestock-wildlife interactions, leading to conflicts between the local community and park staff. Thus, understanding the perception and attitude of local people towards livestockwildlife interaction is very crucial to optimize both livestock production and biodiversity conservation in protected areas. This paper presents the perception and attitude of local community towards livestock-wildlife interactions around Awash National Park (ANP), Ethiopia. Methods: Interview to 180 randomly selected households, representing Afar, Ittu, and Kereyu ethnic groups living around ANP, was conducted from August to December 2015 using a semi-structured questionnaire. Data on community attitude towards wildlife, livestock production systems, and its constraints were collected through focus group-and key informant discussions. We used ordinal logistic regression model to analyze community attitude towards wildlife conservation. Results: Respondents ranked feed shortage (0.38), lack of water (0.32), and climate change (0.30) as the major constraints of livestock production around ANP. A high degree of conflict (79%; χ 2 = 24.09; df = 2; P = 0.000) between the local community and park was recorded. About 73% of the households would be ready to live in harmony with the park. However, 85% of park staff considered the community as a threat, due to high livestock grazing pressure and illegal park resource use. Overall, community attitude towards wildlife significantly varied (χ 2 = 46.28; df = 4; P = 0.00) particularly due to educational level (χ 2 = 15.96; df = 6; P = 0.014), income source (χ 2 = 16.77; df = 2; P = 0.00), and distance of household from ANP (χ 2 = 20.51; df = 4; P = 0.00). The logistic regression model revealed that ethnic group, education, benefit obtained, and conflict with the park were significantly associated with attitude towards wildlife (χ

Many bird species depend on wetlands and the surrounding habitats. However, the status of these wetlands, as well as their biodiversity, is poorly understood and maintained. From January to February 2021, we assessed the compositions, relative abundances, and distributions of bird species throughout five wetland habitats in the East Gojjam zone. In each study site, systematic random sampling techniques were applied at a 4 km interval along the wetland habitats. Bray–Curtis cluster analysis was conducted using PAST software. During the study period, Simpson’s Index and Shannon–Wiener Index were also used to assess the diversity of bird species at various study sites. As a result, a total of 55 bird species from 20 families and 9 orders were identified. During the study period, 49 species were classified as least concern, two were critically endangered species, two were vulnerable species, two were endangered species, and one was an endemic species. During the study, overgrazing and agricultural expansion were identified as threats to biodiversity. To conserve the biological richness of these ecosystems, a wetland conservation strategy and a sustainable usage system are required.

Abstract. Biru Y, Gibru A, Temesgen Z, Hunde K, Fekensa T. 2022. Zootherapeutic animals used by Awi, Gamo, and Konta communities in Amhara and Southern Regions of Ethiopia. Asian J Ethnobiol 5: 84-91. The use of animals and animal products in traditional medicine is less explored than that of plant-based medication. And hence, this pilot study is aimed to assess the role of zootherapeutic animals in traditional medicine among Awi, Gamo, and Konta communities, Ethiopia. Data were collected from December 2020 to March 2021 using a semi-structured questionnaire, focus group discussions, and field observations. A total of 90 informants and 37 group discussants were included in the study. We calculated the use value (UV) and relative frequency of citation (RFC) of animals used in traditional medicine. A binary Logistic Regression model using SAS (9.0) was used to identify the major factors that affected respondents’ knowledge about the importance of animal-based traditional medicine. Overall, we documented 20 medicinal animals having ethnozoological importance in treating nearly 23 human diseases. Out of the 20 vertebrate species used, mammals comprised 70%, followed by birds, 20%. Among the recorded animal species, hyena, porcupine, and bushbuck were commonly reported medicinal animals in the study areas. Meat, skin, and blood were the most frequently used animal products by local communities, with a pooled RFC of 0.48, 0.28, and 0.13, respectively. Asthma, protection from the evil eye, and broken bone were most commonly treated diseases using animal-based therapeutics. The binary logistic regression model revealed that age (?2=10.53; df=3; P=0.01) and region (?2=5.11; df=1; P=0.02) of respondents significantly affected ethnozoological knowledge of respondents. This study confirmed that the sampled communities have rich ethnozoological knowledge concerning the use of traditional medicine. Therefore, further in-depth studies involving traditional healers are recommended to clearly understand the role of wild animals in traditional medicine and design conservation options for the threatened medicinal animals.