THE FILOHA HOT SPRINGS
The Filoha outpost of the Awash National Park is located about 150 kilometers east of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in the semi-arid lowlands of the northern Rift Valley of Africa. The southern boundary of the park is formed by the Awash River, along which there is a zone of hybridization between anubis (Papio hamadryas anubis) and hamadryas (P. h. hamadryas) baboons that has been the subject of long-term investigation by the Awash National Park Baboon Research Project (ANPBRP). Filoha is located in the far north of the park, about 40 km from the hybrid zone, and is surrounded by an area of about 5 km2 of natural hot springs ("fil woha" means "hot water" in Amharic) and doum palm trees (Hyphaene thebaica). The area surrounding Filoha resembles typical hamadryas habitat in that it is essentially a semi-arid thornscrub dominated by several species of shrubby Acacia.At least five groups ("bands") of hamadryas baboons (Papio hamadryas hamadryas) inhabit the Filoha region (both in and outside the park) and sleep on the numerous cliffs, each 5-10 km apart, that are scattered throughout the area. One of these cliffs is about 200 meters from the Filoha outpost. A second sleeping cliff is located near the village of Wasaro, about 4.3 km from Filoha, and a third cliff is located southwest of the town of Sabure, about 10 km from Filoha.
Besides baboons, other commonly-observed fauna in the Filoha area include waterbuck, lesser kudu, warthogs, dik dik, spotted hyenas, jackals, crocodiles, raptors, and a wide variety of water birds. More rarely-observed fauna include greater kudu, bat-eared foxes, leopards, cheetah, lions, and snakes such as puff adders and cobras. The area is heavily used by nomadic Afar pastoralists, who bathe and water their livestock in the Filoha hot springs.
