Explore Africa's Alpine Zone

In Ethiopia, the Bale Mountains’ glacier-carved plateaus and canyons teem with rare wildlife.

- Ryan Utz

THE MORNING SUN MELTS the frost outside my tent, revealing a landscape that looks like it belongs in Canyonlands. Stunted juniper trees, sagebrush, and rock formations make it familiar enough—except for warthogs and spiral-horned nyalas. I watch the animals make their way out of the woodlands and into the desert to graze. My guide, Ayuba, says that later today we’ll likely spot the Ethiopian wolf, the rarest canine species on Earth.