The generalist pathogens of carnivores particularly rabies and canme distemper causedrnsignificant mortality to an endangered carnivore, Ethiopian wolf (Callis simellsis), in the BalernMountains, Ethiopia. For a full understanding of the epidemiology of these pathogens, thernecology and behaviour of both the hosts and the pathogens must be known. However,rnappropliate data to quantify the likelihood of transmission between hosts in most ecologicalrnstudies are lacking. Furthermore, when considering carnivore pathogens, the ecology andrnbehaviour of many smaller call1ivores such as civets and mongooses are relatively unknown.rnThus, there is a clear need for an intensive study of the behaviour and ecology of a guild ofrnwild call1ivores in the Bale Mountains.rnCarnivore ecology and epidemiology were studied in the Bale Mountains, Ethiopia. Eightrngolden jackals (Callis aI/reus), five white-tailed mongooses (Ic1melllllia albicauda), onernmarsh mongoose (Alilax plaudillosus), one African civet (Civitictis civetta) and one commonrngenet (Gelletta gelletta) were radio-tracked from November 1998 to March 2001. A total ofrn950 animal locations were obtained. The average home range size for female jackals was 36rnkru2 and for males 35 kru2rn, range from 7.87 to 64.76 kru2rnâ€¢ The home range size for adultrnmales' white-tailed mongooses averaged 3 kru2rn, range from 1.11 to 4.27 kru2rn, and the adultrnfemale used an area of 2.63 knl. The only tracked marsh mongoose, African civet andrncommon genet nsed an area of 3.93, 11.06 and 1.71 km2 respectively. Home rangesrnoverlapped greatly both within and between species although ten'itoriality among male whitetailedrnmongooses was demonstrated. Golden jackals and white-tailed mongooses werernobserved most of the time alone. Male -female pairs were the most tiequently observed socialrngroups in both species. Inter-specific interaction among wild call1ivores, and between wildrncall1ivores and domestic dogs were observed. The frequency of contacts was higher among domestic dogs, golden jackals, white-tailed mongooses and spotted hyaenas. The pattern ofrnhabitat use during delll1ing activity and foraging activity by the radiotracked species wasrndifferent. Golden jackals used densely covered forests and bushes as denning sites where asrnthey used all habitats during foraging. White-tailed mongooses used underground dens andrnempty houses for resting but the species intensified its foraging activity in grasslands. Thernmarsh mongoose exclusively used underground dens along the riverbank as denning sitesrnwhereas it used riverside habitats as foraging areas. The civet exclusively rested in densernbushes where as the genet largely found resting in trees. Scavenging by the civet and the genetrnwas frequently observed. The microhabitats were particularly important both as denning sitesrnand foraging areas for most species, except for the genet and civet, which exhibited a similarrnpattern of use of microhabitats and area habitats. The mean density of golden jackals in thernhighlands and lowlands around the Bale Mountains National Park were the same (1.4 indiv.rnIkm2rn). The mean density of domestic dogs was 6.39 and 2.15 individuals/km2 in the highlandsrnand lowlands respectively. The population abundance of golden jackals, spotted hyaena andrnwhite-tailed mongoose was relatively high. Analysis of Sera sampled from wild carnivoresrnaround the Bale Mountains National Park from 1998-1999 suggests that the carnivore speciesrnhad been exposed to canine viruses. Large proportion of the sampled golden jackals andrnEthiopian wolves were seropositive to canine distemper, canine adenovirus and caninernparvovirus. The study established that there is a potential for disease transmission betweenrnwild carnivores, and from domestic dogs to wild carnivores.