Simen Mountains National Park, Ethiopia
2001
Michael K. Nichols
"Therophithecus gelada, the last of its genus, lives in a world as high as 14,000 feet [4,267 meters] and often barely the width of a monkey's bum.
"Born of volcanic inferno some 30 million years ago, Ethiopia's highlands offer what the specially adapted gelada needs: grassy plateaus for grazing and sheer cliffs with narrow ledges that, though pounded by wind and even hail, are perfect night hideouts from jackals, hyenas, and leopards.
"The herd safely tucked in crevices below, a lone bachelor savors twilight with a view of the last place on Earth for his kind. As many as 200,000 geladas survive in this harsh landscape."
???From "Kings of the Hill?" November 2002, National Geographic magazine
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