Mountain Nyalas occur at elevations of 1,800-4,300 m but are most abundant from 2,400-3,200 m (Atickem in litt. 2009, Sillero-Zubiri 2013). They frequent montane woodlands and the fringes of montane grasslands (Sillero-Zubiri 2013). Highest densities (up to 21/km²) have been recorded in the montane grasslands of Gaysay, Bale, where there is a combination of browse and grass with woodland cover to retreat to during the day (Hillman and Hillman 1987).

The formerly large continuous blocks of suitable woodland and Afroalpine habitat have now been reduced to a series of habitat islands in a sea of cultivated fields. It seems likely that mountain nyalas have been forced into higher areas by human increase and livestock grazing, and are also found above 3,400 m in heath forest and heathlands and on Afroalpine grasslands up to 4,300 m (Sillero-Zubiri 2013). In the eastern extreme of its distribution, a relict population was recorded in forests as low as 1,800 m (Bolton 1973).

The Mountain Nyala is endemic to the highlands of Ethiopia, south-east of the Rift Valley, between 6°N and 10°N. Formerly it occurred from Gara Muleta in the east to Shashamane and north Sidamo in the south, but has been eliminated from a large part of its former range. Currently, the main area of its distribution is the Bale Mountains National Park and the eastern escarpments of the Bale massif. Smaller relict populations occur in Chercher (Amhar) Mountains (Asba Tafari, Arba Guggu, Din Din), Arsi Mountains (Chilalo, Galama, Mt Kaka, Munessa), and West Bale (Somkaro-Korduro ridge) (Hillman 1988, East 1999, Malcolm and Evangelista 2005, Atickem in litt. 2009, Sillero-Zubiri 2013).

Protected by law but enforcement is generally absent. Effective protection is limited to around 20 km² of habitat in Gaysay and around Bale Mountains N.P. headquarters. The Bale Mountains N.P. harbours around half the total population of Mountain Nyalas. The small Kuni-Muktar Wildlife Sanctuary was established in 1990 as a second protected area for Mountain Nyala, but by 1996 this sanctuary had suffered severely from poaching, deforestation, cultivation and gully erosion, and the species no longer occurred. The recent (2011) establishment of an additional protected area in the Arsi Mountains may deliver some conservation benefit for the species (Sillero-Zubiri 2013).

The Mountain Nyala, along with the Ethiopian wolf, is a key flagship species for Bale Mountains N.P. and its future will be closely tied to the future of this protected area. It is also very important to spread the risk by establishing effective protection and management of Mountain Nyala populations elsewhere within its range. Sustainable trophy hunting in some of these areas has very high potential for generating the revenue needed to fund effective conservation of this species and the other endemics which share its habitat. No Mountain Nyalas are currently kept in captivity and it may also be advisable to establish a self-sustaining captive population in collaboration with the Ethiopian conservation authorities, as an insurance against future adversity for the wild population.