Walia Ibex - Capra ibex walie

Ras Dashen Restaurant's logo is the Walia Ibex. This endangered wild goat lives on narrow mountain ledges in the Simien Mountains (Ras Dashen Mountain being the tallest of them) and sports large curved horns that in males, can reach more than 3 ft. Hunted widely for its meat - particularly during the Italian occupation of Ethiopia during World War II - the walia ibex had an estimated population of 500 by the late 1990s. It has no natural predators. As far as is known, the walia ibex has always had a restricted range in Ethiopia.

Mountain sheep and goats have feet that are specialy adapted for living in mountainous terrain. Their hooves have sharp edges and the undersides are concave, enabling them to adhere somewhat like suction cups. To watch even the youngest and smallest of the Walia kids gambolling about on slanted rocky ledges in a cliff face of terrifying steepness, a 500 metre drop only inches away, makes one catch one's breath with anxiety.

More Information (link).