Wildlife of Egypt
Encyclopedia

Overview

Plants are those common in dry subtropical and tropical lands, such as papyrus
Papyrus
Papyrus is a thick paper-like material produced from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge that was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt....

. Egypt has no forests but does have date palm and citrus groves; eucalyptus and cypress have been introduced.

Sheep, goats, and donkey's are found throughout the country, and camels are found in all the deserts. Egypt has some 300 types of birds, with about half of them being breeding species within the country. Wild animals are few, except for the hyena
Hyena
Hyenas or Hyaenas are the animals of the family Hyaenidae of suborder feliforms of the Carnivora. It is the fourth smallest biological family in the Carnivora , and one of the smallest in the mammalia...

, jackal
Jackal
Although the word jackal has been historically used to refer to many small- to medium-sized species of the wolf genus of mammals, Canis, today it most properly and commonly refers to three species: the black-backed jackal and the side-striped jackal of sub-Saharan Africa, and the golden jackal of...

, fennec fox, lynx
Lynx
A lynx is any of the four Lynx genus species of medium-sized wildcats. The name "lynx" originated in Middle English via Latin from Greek word "λύγξ", derived from the Indo-European root "*leuk-", meaning "light, brightness", in reference to the luminescence of its reflective eyes...

, mongoose
Mongoose
Mongoose are a family of 33 living species of small carnivorans from southern Eurasia and mainland Africa. Four additional species from Madagascar in the subfamily Galidiinae, which were previously classified in this family, are also referred to as "mongooses" or "mongoose-like"...

, and wild boar, the last-named inhabiting the Nile Delta
Nile Delta
The Nile Delta is the delta formed in Northern Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the world's largest river deltas—from Alexandria in the west to Port Said in the east, it covers some 240 km of Mediterranean coastline—and is a rich...

.The Egyptian Wolf
Egyptian Wolf
The Egyptian Jackal also known as the African Wolf or Wolf Jackal is currently listed as a subspecies of the golden jackal but may be a subspecies of grey wolf or a unique species in its own right...

 is rare and endangered canid, inhabits the a few remote regions. Blanford's fox
Blanford's Fox
Blanford's fox , is a small fox found in certain regions of the Middle East.-Other names:It is also known as the Afghan fox, royal fox, Corsac, dog fox, hoary fox, steppe fox, black fox, king fox, cliff fox or Baluchistan fox...

 occur in Sinai Peninsula
Sinai Peninsula
The Sinai Peninsula or Sinai is a triangular peninsula in Egypt about in area. It is situated between the Mediterranean Sea to the north, and the Red Sea to the south, and is the only part of Egyptian territory located in Asia as opposed to Africa, effectively serving as a land bridge between two...

.
The ibex may be found in the Sinai, and gazelles in the deserts. The Nile is adequately stocked with fish, but crocodiles have been reduced to a few along the shores of Lake Nasser
Lake Nasser
Lake Nasser is a vast reservoir in southern Egypt, and northern Sudan, and is one of the largest man-made lakes in the world. Strictly, "Lake Nasser" refers only to the much larger portion of the lake that is in Egyptian territory , with the Sudanese preferring to call their smaller body of water...

. Reptiles include the horned viper
Horned viper
Horned viper may refer to:* Cerastes , North African desert vipers, a group of small, venomous species found in the deserts and semi-deserts of northern North Africa eastward through Arabia and Iran...

 and the hooded snake. In 2002, there were about 98 species of mammals, 123 species of birds, and over 2000 species
of higher plants.

External links

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