that they learned that there are aspects of ethiopia most people in the western world may not be aware of and the highlands are also the final retreat for one of africa's most isolated prim their relatives began disappearing around a million years ago when the african climate started to bloom and edible grasses began growing seventy five million years ago hottest place on the planet the average annual temperature is thirty four degrees centigrade with mercury levels frequently rising  the roof of africa this mountainous region forms the largest continuous area of its altitude in the whole of africa despite the evening chill ethiopia's simian mountains provide the perfect home to one of africa's most unusual grazing mammals unlike most monkeys the geladas diet is primarily made up of grass because a handful of these green blades contains a relatively small amount of energy geladas spend around sixty percent of their waking hours cropping the plane unusually large mobility enable them to grind out the nutrients of each bla after breakfast there's no better way to unwind and relax than a good rummage through someone else this adult male gerardo is about the size of a large domestic dog he's the head of his own hollerin made up of around a dozen females and their young although grooming also helps reaffirm social bonds throughout most of the group it seems this alpha male would be scratching his own back not wasting his efforts on the females despite being the so called boss it's actually the women who call the shots in this society where to walk including when it's time for their leader to be replaced barons of bachelor manners rung the outer perimeter of the herd looking for signs of weakness looking to catch the eye this particular alpha male may soon be forced to prove his w making the journey from asia to north africa as recently as one hundred thousand years ago packs contain up to thirteen individuals they choose to hunt alone on the open grasslands splitting up from their groups to track down th keeping a low profile it closes in this stalking strategy can last just a few seconds or sometimes up to an ally the species living on the plateau small grass rats are the most hunted pr over ninety five percent of the world's diet is made up of rodents a hunting mission over the individuals regroup and return but there's another species that's also made these dramatic mountains it's exclusive home balancing on the edge of a rocky ledge a five hundred meter drop just a few centimeters away it seems completely at ease with a terrifying steep n even climbing trees to reach a meal proves effortless despite sharing the same habitat with gelada baboons these ivax have more diverse feeding habits but during the mating season this grouping pattern changes although their meta longhorns make the perfect back scratches they have a more important use at this time of year as one battle is decided another challenge is steps for it it can be a drawn out the eventual victor gets to dominate the female herd increasing his chances of siring the most offspring although ethiopia's highlands provide the perfect refuge for many creatures there's another mammal that has also reason to the challenge of surviving over two thousand years ago just in the same mountainous district a series of canes lie hidden amongst the landscape for centuries they have been the destination for thousands of with mint evil murals for over a thousand years these holy hideaways have allowed their congregations to participate in peaceful prayer and spiritual ritual founded back in the fourth century by a shipwrecked christian ethiopia's orthodox church is one of the oldest established churches in the world and i work here at the northwest african american museum in seattle and i serve as its deputy director and the museum looks at the history and the art and culture of african americans in the pacific northwest so we're looking at washington oregon idaho and even parts of british columbia all the really explore that black experience history month so black history month started in the one nine hundred twenty s and it was started by harvard trained academic named  and he had the idea that african american history culture and his experiences in academic were being pushed to the margins of the dialogue and discussion so happening in america and he wanted to really really integrate african american history and culture back into a larger american dialogue and so the way that he did that was through negro history week and it was really a consciousness raising effort that's that's what he was looking to do is to highlight individuals and institutions and key trends within the butt community and just kind of to show that real by brits and that wonderfulness of the black community which he felt was being overlooked and under appreciated so that was kind of the start of it it was one week and from there grew into an entire month so the month of february has historically been an opportunity for i think all of america to take a look at you know the african american community i think that the  african immigrant population here in the pacific northwest is a part of the historic african american community i really consider that to be our brothers and sisters in the black community and that's why the museum made the decision to have an exhibition which currently focus on seattle see the opening community and we all fall under the larger black diaspora and so to me it's as important for african immigrants living here in this region to appreciate and to understand the value in the word of black history month because it truly is a shared history that we have i mean the civil rights struggle in the united states was fueled by the black nationalist movement  in africa and moves for independence and so it was this exchange of ideas and approaches and tactics so again it's the shared history and so i think it's important for everyone to appreciate and understand i think that black history month this really just an opportunity that's all that is independent individually what you decide to make of it will really determine the value that you feel so i think most easily can come to the northwest african american museum and you can see the artifacts and the stories and the people that we've been able to examine and explore here so there's a wonderful opportunity just tap into a bit of that richness of the african american experience and then there are also things that you can do on your own i remember growing up for black history month you know what i was really focused in school tend to focus on dr martin luther king jr who's a hero of mine but i would always ask myself why does this story the story of black culture history have to start and to stop with one man and so i always took it upon myself that i was going to look a little bit deeper than that you know going to look at my own culture and find out who else are my heroes out there who are also those people who really shaped the experience not just the black experience but the larger american experience so there are these great individual stories that you can personally take upon yourself to learn about and i think that's what black history month this is really what you make it so i always encourage people to just individually figure out how you can make black history month relevant for yourself maybe it's just learning about a new new figure from african american history maybe it's taking on a service project at a organization that focuses you know its efforts towards black community so there are so many different avenues of approach to make it a meaningful month for you through that lens of the african americans through your opportunities here at the museum working in administration or you could work with exhibits or you can work with marketing an outr so those are available we also have internships a limited number of internships we have available every quarter for high school students college students and also graduate students so we have a great relationship with the university of washington's will draw a lot of in terms from that we also have a tremendous youth curated program and that's targeted to high school students so every year eight to ten high school students are brought into the museum and they're allowed to develop their own exhibition and they fabricate their own exhibition install it here at the museum and then they act this tour guides taking people throughout the music museum and showing them their own their own exhibition which they created charter six three eight six one three three seven zero and and i  in king county we've had our fair share of big storms high winds rain or snow can cause the power to go out for hours days or even weeks when the he lights and electricity are shut off just staying inside a cold home or trying to cook dinner can be an ordeal grills and generators can help solve these problems but these items should never be used indoors burning charcoal gas oil or would release is carbon monoxide a poisonous gas that you can't see or smell when these items are burned outside or in a place with proper ventilation carbon monoxide is released into the air but inside the gas is trapped and can build up you can get sick or even die if you breathe and too much carbon monoxide symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include najah dizziness and headache you may get confused or feel very sleepy if you start feeling this way get outside as soon as possible if you suspect that you are suffering from poisoning con nine one one and go to the hospital when the power goes out make sure to keep your generator and grill outdoors don't even use them in the garage or near a window since a carbon monoxide can still see into your home if you are cold stay warm by going to a friend or family member's house check out local libraries or community centers or see if the city has opened emergency warming centers to protect yourself and your family get a carbon monoxide alarm for your house make sure it has a ul listed label on it and that it always has fresh batteries in it to learn more about carbon monoxide poisoning or how to prepare for winter storms visit public health seattle and king counties website at www dot king county dot gov slash health services  dot a s p x and look under emergency preparedness to get health related updates and news like public health seattle and king county on facebook follow us on twitter or subscribe to