The mountain nyala (Amharic: የተራራ ኒዮላ) (Tragelaphus buxtoni) or balbok, is a large antelope found in high altitude woodlands in a small part of central Ethiopia.

Human settlement and large livestock population have forced the animal to occupy heath forests at an altitude of above 3,400 m (11,200 ft).

Major Buxton, who had returned from a hunting trip in Ethiopia, first presented a specimen he had shot to British taxidermist Rowland Ward, who later on notified Lydekker about the discovery.

[6][7] In 2005, Sandi Willows-Munro of the University of KwaZulu-Natal (Durban) carried out a mitochondrial analysis of the nine Tragelaphus species.

The lower part of the legs are pale on the inside and clear white spots are present just above the hooves.

The coat is fawn brown in male juveniles, and grows darker with age, eventually becoming charcoal in old bulls.

Males have a short dark erect crest, about 10 cm (3.9 in) high, running along the middle of the back, from the neck to the tail.

Horns appear as cream-coloured nubs at around six months and start growing in a spiral pattern, reaching full growth by two years.

Growth rings are visible on the horn sheaths, but the annual patterns might be difficult to comprehend.

[5][13] The mountain nyala resembles the greater kudu in that both have an array of white spots along their flanks and possess spiral horns.

In the dry season (November to March), given the dilapidated state of grasslands, the mountain nyala travel up to the wooden areas rich in ericaceous heath.

However, groups containing as many as 100 individuals have been reported from the Bale Zone, composed of several family units moving in and out periodically.

Size and longevity of such large herds depends upon the season, habitat type and the time of the day.

Bachelor herds are formed by non-dominant adult bulls and young males, consisting of up to 13 individuals.

Females and juveniles, on the other hand, occupy much smaller ranges of about 5 km2 (1.9 sq mi) in the wet season.

Favoured species include Artemisia afra (African wormwood), Hypericum revolutum, Kniphofia foliosa, Solanum sessilistellatum and Hagenia abyssinica leaves.

Sexual dimorphism, larger home ranges for males, and a female-biased population indicate polygyny in the species.

Three to four males may seek a single female, and, if equally ranked in hierarchy, may engage in circling displays.

In these displays the males move very slowly and stiffly, with the crest on the back erect and the tail raised.

In the Bale Mountains National Park, births occur throughout the year, but peak from September to November.

They often visit the edges of montane grasslands at 2,800–3,100 m (9,200–10,200 ft), which is covered with Artemisia afra, Kniphofia, and evergreen Hypericum species.

[12] Nowadays the continuous blocks of woodland habitat have been reduced to a series of pockets, interspersed in large cultivated lands.

In the eastern borders of its range, the mountain nyala has usually been observed to occupy areas at lower altitudes of about 1,800–2,400 m (5,900–7,900 ft).

Their former range was from Mount Gara Muleta in the east to Shashamene and the northern Bale Zone to the south.

Smaller relict populations occur in Chercher, mountains such as Chilalo in Arsi Zone, and the western Bale.

[18] Major threats to the survival of the mountain nyala include illegal hunting, habitat destruction, encroachment by livestock, predation of calves by dogs, expansion of montane cultivation and construction at high altitudes.

But by 1996 the sanctuary had been so severely affected by deforestation, poaching, cultivation and gully erosion, that the populations soon disappeared from there.

The mountain nyala is feared to be extinct in the eastern and southern extremes of its range, though a few probably survive in Chiro (Asebe Teferi) and the border between Bale and Sidamo, south of Kofele.