The survey was conducted from August 2019 to February 2020, aimed at assessing medium and large-sized mammals’ diversity, richness, and relative abundance in the Fura-Faragosa Landscape (FFL), Gamo zone, Southern Ethiopia. Fixed-width line transects sampling method was used to collect data among four stratified habitats: forest, wet-land, grass-land and cultivated-land, and between seasons. A total of 685 mammalian records belong to 21 species, six orders and 13 families were identified, including globally vulnerable species such as Panthera leo, Panthera pardus and Hippopotamus amphibius. Overall, Papio Anubis and Chlorocebus pygerythrus were the four dominant species, while Civettictis civetta, Panthera leo and Panthera pardus were the least abundant in the FFL. The study revealed that the dry season was characterized by higher mammalian species abundance (377 records) but by lower species richness (20) than the wet season. At habitat level, all the species encountered in the three habitats (Except Panthera leo, Panthera pardus, and Colobus guereza - habitat specialists) are subsets of the species recorded in the grass-land habitat. Grass-land had the highest diversity index (H = 2.543) even though its area is small except wet-land. Wet-land had the lowest diversity index (H = 1.845) but contained species of conservation concern such as vulnerable Panthera leo and Hippopotamus amphibius. The species abundance was highest in the forest. The similarity index of mammalian species was highest between grass-land and forest (0.609). In general, the findings reveal that FFL is the potential area for mammalian conservation in Ethiopia. The findings will serve as baseline information for stakeholders to make effective conservation decisions and as a baseline for researchers wishing to conduct related ecological studies. As the area is rich in mammalian diversity and abundance, urgent conservation action is highly recommended. Keywords: distribution, diversity, Faragosa-Fura Landscape, mammals, relative abundance

Abstract Mammals function as ecological engineers. The ecological relevance of mammals, shortage of data and increased human threats make the matter very essential and necessary to evaluate their diversity and current conservation status. Mammals’ diversity and their threats in Faragosa Communal Forest (FCF) areas are poorly surveyed. The study aimed at assessing medium and large-sized mammals of the study area, and their major threats in FCF. Survey of mammals conducted from August to December 2019 in FCF, Gamo zone, Southern Ethiopia. Transect line method using direct and indirect field observations used to collect data on mammals and their threats. A total of 685 individuals were id belonging to twenty-one mammalian species, six orders and thirteen families were observed. Hystrix cristata, Xerus rutilus, Marmota monax, Mellivera capensis, Chlorocebus aethiops, Papio anubis, Colobus guereza, Civettictis civetta, and Lapus hassinicus were among the medium-sized mammals while Tragelaphus imberbis, Redunca redunca, Ourebia ourebi, Sylvicapra grimmia, Phacochoerus aethiopicus, Pontamochoreus larvatus, Hippopothamus amphibus, Orycteropus afer, Crocuta crocuta, Panthera leo, Panthera pardus, and Canis mesomelas were the large mammals of the study area. Papio anubis and Chlorocebus aethiops were the dominant species identified. The abundant order recorded by the number of observations was order Primates (284 individuals) followed by order Artiodactyla (201 individuals) while the least abundant order was Tubulidentata (8 individuals). Among observed 685 mammals, 371 (54.16%) individuals were recorded in dry season while 314 (45.84%) individuals were recorded in wet season and abundance significantly varied between seasons (2 = 40.783; df = 20; < 0.05). The prevailing threatening factors identified were logging of trees for fuelwood and house construction, overgrazing, deforestation, hunting, mining, and invasive alien plants. As the area is rich in mammals and threatened by different factors, urgent conservation action is highly recommended. K E Y W O R D S diversity, Ethiopia, Faragosa forest, mammals, threats