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Updated: December 11, 2007

For Immediate Release
June 15, 2006

TMF contributes to IUCN species evaluation

The World Conservation Union (IUCN) Antelope Specialist Group contacted TMF Director Paul Evangelista for assistance in determining the status of mountain populations in Ethiopia. Founded in 1948, the IUCN determines the status of the world's flora and fauna, while working directly with government agencies and non-governmental organizations in driving policy and formulating conservation plans. The IUCN compiles the Red List of Threatened and Endangered Species, identifying species as threatened, endangered, or critically endangered. Next year, the IUCN Antelope Specialist Group will be reviewing the status of all East African antelopes.

The mountain nyala is currently listed as endangered by the IUCN. Previous reports by the IUCN suggest that the mountain nyala population ranges from 1,500 to 2,500. TMF is investigating potential new populations that have never been reported; our research so far suggests that the population exceeds 4,000 animals. The work that Evangelista and other TMF researchers have conducted over the past five years does not indicate that mountain nyala populations have increased but rather presents evidence that historical surveys of mountain nyala have only included a fraction of the species' entire range.

It is unclear whether or not the IUCN will move the mountain nyala from endangered to threatened status based on TMF's information, but at the least it will be informed of the existence of previously unreported populations.