The Ethiopian wolf has a bright chestnut-colored coat, bushy tail, pointed ears, slender snout, and long legs. It weighs 11 - 19 kg (24 - 42 lb). It is a localized endemic species and is confined to isolated pockets of grasslands and heathlands. The Ethiopian wolf is found above 3000 m (10,000'). It prefers areas with short vegetation less than 0.24 m (10") high. Rodents account for more than 90% of its prey. The giant mole rat is the main food item; other prey includes grass rats and hares. The Ethiopian wolf is mostly diurnal, but it can be nocturnal in areas where it is persecuted. Dens usually consist of a system of burrows beneath a rock overhang or cliffs. Caching prey and scavenged material in shallow holes is common. 

Although Ethiopian wolves live in packs that share and defend an exclusive territory, for the most part they forage and feed alone on small rodent prey. This is in contrast to the general tendency in larger carnivores for species that live in groups to hunt cooperatively. In optimal habitat, packs include 3 - 13 adults and, on average, are comprised of 6 adults, 1 - 6 yearlings, and 1 - 7 pups. A typical pack is an extended family group formed by all males born into the pack during consecutive years and 1 - 2 females. All pack members participate in the defense and marking of the territory, and parents and sub-adult helpers contribute to the rearing of pups.

  The Ethiopian wolf is endemic to Ethiopia. It was reported from most provinces in Ethiopia in the 19th century. By the 1970's it had declined considerably. The Ethiopian wolf currently is confined to seven isolated subpopulations in different mountain ranges of the Ethiopian highlands. Wolf populations occur north of the Rift Valley in the Simien Mountains, Mount Guna, North Wollo and South Wollo highlands, and Menz. Southeast of the Rift Valley there are populations in the Arsi (formerly "Arussi") Mountains and in the Bale Mountains. More than half of the species' population lives in the Bale Mountains.

  Continuous loss of habitat due to high-altitude subsistence agriculture represents the major current threat to the Ethiopian wolf. Sixty percent of all land above 3,200 m (10,000') has been converted into farmland, and all Ethiopian wolf populations below 3,700 m (12,000') are particularly vulnerable to further habitat loss. Habitat loss is exacerbated by overgrazing of highland pastures by domestic livestock, and in some areas habitat is threatened by proposed development of commercial sheep farms and roads. Hybridization of the Ethiopian wolf with domestic dogs could threaten the genetic integrity of the Ethiopian wolf population, but hybridization is currently confined to one valley in western Bale.

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