Читать книгу A Field Guide to the Mammals of Egypt - Richard Hoath - Страница 7
ОглавлениеThe political entity of Egypt makes up the northeasternmost corner of the African continent, together with the Sinai Peninsula. It has an area of c. 1,019,449km2, of which around 18,000km2 are administered by Sudan (Sudan Government Administration Area). The land borders to the north and east are clearly defined by the coastal areas bordering the Mediterranean and Red Seas respectively, but to the west and south, as well as the eastern land frontier, the borders follow no natural boundaries but are colonial legacies; to the south with Sudan, the west, Libya, and the east, Palestine and Israel. While beyond the immediate concerns of zoologists, these artificial boundaries are important since they explain the main reason why Egypt has relatively few endemic plant and animal species. Endemic plant species are highlighted in Boulos (1999 and 2000). Amongst the animals there are, for example, two endemic species of butterfly, Pseudophilotes sinaicus and Satyrium jebelia, the endemic Kassas’s Toad Bufo kassasii, and the mammals, Flower’s Shrew Crocidura floweri, the Pallid Gerbil Gerbillus perpallidus, Egyptian Weasel Mustela subpalmata, and possibly Mackilligin’s Gerbil G. mackilligini. There are no endemic bird species, again largely a function of Egypt’s unnatural frontiers.
Within these borders, Egypt is predominantly arid, the often-quoted figures being between 95 and 96% desert. The remaining percentage is largely made up of the Nile Valley and Delta, the latter expanding out fanlike from just north of Cairo to the Mediterranean. The Nile originates far south of Egypt’s southern frontier with Sudan; the White Nile rising in the highlands of central Africa and the Blue Nile in the mountains of Ethiopia. It is the latter that fuels the river with the bulk of its water, and in the past (before the waters were tamed by the various dams and barrages), it was the floods of the Blue Nile waters that dictated the inundations of the Nile in Egypt. These inundations provided the agricultural lands of the Valley and Delta with an annual supply of fertile silt that was crucial to its fertility throughout over 5,000 years of human agricultural activity. It is probably true to say that no other area on earth has been subject to such a long and intensive invasion of human activity. As will be seen, it is now a wholly artificial environment. There are no natural tributaries of the Nile within Egypt’s borders today, though the Western Desert oases of Kharga, Dakhla, Farafra, and Bahariya trace a long, fossil, subterranean course of the Nile and provide outposts of fertility in an otherwise extremely dry region of the planet.
The importance of climate can be seen from the accompanying maps. Both rainfall and temperature alter radically in a very short geographical distance as one moves away from the north coast. The narrow strip of cooler, wetter desert along the north coast supports a similarly narrow biome, including plants and animals that owe more to Mediterranean conditions than Saharan. Even within this zone, climatic and geological features support plant and animal species not found elsewhere in Egypt, notably in the extreme west and east. To the south, precipitation, often in the form of snow, increases in the mountains of South Sinai, while there is an increase in terms of orographic rainfall in the Gebel Elba region in the southeasternmost corner of the country. However, through much of Egypt the pattern is broadly similar, temperature rising and rainfall declining rapidly inland from the northern coast and then more steadily south over the rest of the country.
Within this general pattern, the Egyptian landscape varies dramatically and with it, the plants and animals it supports. While microclimatic conditions will always vary on the smallest scale, a number of distinct biological regions can be noted in Egypt. Sweeping attempts to catalog its flora and fauna within four bio-geographical regions; namely, the Saharo-Sindian, Irano-Turanian, Mediterranean, and Afro-tropical are in danger of oversimplifying the impact of historical and relatively recent geo-climatic influences and, most recently of all, the impact of humans—an impact that simply cannot be ignored, especially over the Nile Valley and Delta. For example, the Nubian Ibex Capra ibex probably evolved from Eurasian relatives of the African antelope group. In Eurasia, this stock evolved in competition with the deer (Cervidae) to become adapted to marginal montane habitats. During the last ice ages, these caprines reinvaded northern Africa, but with the retreat of the colder climate were left in the mountains of northeastern Africa, extending down to an isolated area in the Ethiopian Highlands. Today, this seemingly ancient, yet relatively recent, distribution leaves the Nubian Ibex as a resident of the Sinai mountains and the highlands of the Red Sea Mountains. Within historical times, and especially the last two hundred years, the influence of humans is sadly evident in the distribution of the Nubian Ibex. Due to hunting and habitat disturbance, it has become confined within its already limited habitat to those areas most remote and most inaccessible to human disturbance. Little of Egypt, and its flora and fauna, has been left untouched by human hand.
Historically, all evidence indicates that between 8000 and 3000 BC, this northeastern corner of the African continent underwent a climate change, becoming both hotter and drier. Petroglyphs made by the ancients indicate a fauna much more akin to the East African savanna fauna of today. For instance, at Silwa Bahari there are predynastic rock drawings of African Elephants Loxodonta africana, White Rhinos Ceratotherium simum, and Gerenuk Litocranius walleri, as well as hunting scenes with Ostriches Struthio camelus being pursued with bows and arrows. In the rock tombs of the pharaohs, there are frequent representations of the Bubal Hartebeeste Alcelaphus buselaphhus buselaphus, a subspecies now extinct but related to the hartebeestes of current East and southern Africa. Along the Nile, the Hippopotamus Hippopotamus amphibius survived until historical times.
However, to define Egypt today loosely as a hot, desert country is once more to oversimplify: the different types of desert differ radically in topography and resultant flora and fauna. The Nile Valley and Delta apart, the Egyptian desert regions are represented by distinct plant and animal communities. What follows is an overview of these regions with a summary of the Protected Areas designated within each biome.
Stretching from the border with Libya to Alexandria, the coastal desert’s distinctive feature is the relatively high, and more consistent, rainfall and low temperature compared to the rest of Egypt. As can be seen from the map, the rainfall decreases very rapidly inland from the coast, giving this zone a maximum width of around 50km along its 600km length. The distinctive geography of this narrow coastal strip allows it to play host to Egypt’s most prolific flora, both in terms of absolute number and of species diversity. Unsurprisingly, this rich flora supports a wide range of animal life. Distinctive birds include the Barbary Partridge Alectoris barbara (probably locally extinct), Houbara Bustard Chlamydotis undulata, Dupont’s Lark Chersophilus duponti, Thekla Lark Galerida theklae, Temminck’s Horned Lark Eremophila bilopha, and Red-rumped Wheatear Oenanthe moesta. Characteristic mammals include the Long-eared Hedgehog Hemiechinus auritus, Cape Hare Lepus capensis, Anderson’s Gerbil Gerbillus andersoni, Shaw’s Jird Meriones shawi, Fat Sand Rat Psammomys obesus, Lesser Molerat Spalax leucodon, Middle Eastern Dormouse Eliomys melanurus, Greater Egyptian Jerboa Jaculus orientalis, and Four-toed Jerboa Allactaga tetradactyla. Sadly, this coastal strip is also one of the most threatened habitats. Tourist developments expanding west from Alexandria have destroyed much of this habitat to Mersa Matruh and threatened expansion west will probas-bly mean that no area east of Sallum is safe. With the exception of the al-Omayed Biosphere Reserve inland from al-Alamein where the Red-rumped Wheatear may still breed, no area within this coastal desert is protected.
Annual rainfall in Egypt in mm (after Osborn and Helmy [1980])
One Protected Area: al-Omayed Biosphere Reserve.
The vast expanse of Egypt west of the Nile Valley and south of the north coast is collectively known as the Western Desert, the north-easternmost portion of the Sahara Desert. The area is characterized by low relief and areas of vast, inhospitably arid hamada and sand plains with very little rainfall. This barren landscape, in parts virtually lifeless, is relieved by areas of massif, such as Gebel Uweinat in the southwest, and the oases scattered along fossil watercourses. Foremost among these are Siwa, Bahariya, Farafra, Dakhla, Kharga, and Wadi Natrun, which show a fauna similar to that of the Nile Valley and Delta. The Fayoum is not strictly speaking an oasis but rather nowadays a dead-end branch of the Nile. It too has a fauna similar to the Nile Valley and Delta.
To the north of the Western Desert, the dominant physical feature is the Qattara Depression covering 19,500km2 and reaching below sea level 134m in depth. The floor of the depression too has isolated oases, sufficient to support Acacia species and a number of salt lakes. The western region of the Western Desert is marked by the dunes of the Great Libyan Sand Sea, while to the southwest the dominant features are the Gilf al-Kebir and the isolated massif of Gebel Uweinat. Typical birds of the region include Spotted Sandgrouse Pterocles senegallus, Hoopoe Lark Alaemon alaudipes, and White-crowned Black Wheatear Oenanthe leucopyga. The mammal fauna of the Western Desert is sadly depleted. Within the last two hundred years or so, the Bubal Hartebeeste, Addax Addax nasomaculatus, and Scimitar-horned Oryx Oryx dammah have all disappeared. The Slender-horned Gazelle Gazella leptoceros is much depleted and it is doubtful whether the Cheetah Acinonyx jubatus still clings on. Typical mammal species extant in the region include Lesser Egyptian Jerboa Jaculus jaculus, Giza Gerbil Gerbillus amoenus, Rüppell’s Sand Fox Vulpes rueppelli, and Dorcas Gazelle Gazella dorcas. The Gilf al-Kebir and Gebel Uweinat represent the last strongholds in Egypt of the Barbary Sheep Ammotragus lervia. The Western Desert’s only Protected Area covers just 1km2.
Four Protected Areas: Hasana Dome Protected Area, Gilf Kebir National Reserve, White Desert Protected Area, and Siwa Protected Area.
The Eastern Desert is very different from its western counterpart. It broadly consists of a range of sedimentary mountains that separate the Nile Valley from the Red Sea, the northernmost extension of which are the Muqattam Hills east of Cairo. A coastal plain of variable width separates these mountains from the Red Sea. These ranges are dissected by a series of deep wadis that reflect a time when water was the dominant erosion agent in these uplands. Two examples include Wadi Hof, south of Maadi, and Wadi Rishrash, north of Beni Suef. These wadi floors are still often vegetated, in contrast to the barren plateaus, there being sufficient groundwater to support such species as Acacia spp. and Tamarisk Tamarix nilotica. The wadi walls are often precipitous, and dry waterfalls are a common topographical feature. While the Eastern Desert is classified as hyper-arid, when rain does fall it can be torrential and lead to flash floods that are still the dominant erosional force in the region. The plateau tops are extremely arid.
The fauna of the Eastern Desert is strikingly different from that of the Western Desert, reflecting the very different topography and the importance of the Nile as a zoogeographical barrier. Birds such as the Sand Partridge Ammoperdix heyi, Scrub Warbler Socotocerca inquieta, White-crowned Black Wheatear, and Mourning Wheatear Oenanthe lugens are typical of these deserts. The mammal species show a close parallel to those of South Sinai including the Golden Spiny Mouse Acomys russatus, Bushy-tailed Jird Sekeetamys calurus, Nubian Ibex, and Striped Hyena Hyaena hyaena. Recent records appear to confirm this connection with South Sinai with records of Hume’s Tawny Owl Strix butleri and Blanford’s Fox Vulpes cana from the Eastern Desert. An exception is Rüppell’s Sand Fox, which is found in both deserts. To the west, clearly the Nile is not a complete barrier, based on the distribution of the Lesser Egyptian Jerboa and the Lesser Egyptian Gerbil Gerbillus gerbillus.
Six Protected Areas: Petrified Forest Protected Area, Wadi Degla Protected Area, Sannur Cave National Monument, Wadi al-Asyuti Protected Area, Wadi Allaqi Protected Area, and Wadi Gimal Protected Area.
The Sinai Peninsula is of immense importance in any discussion of the flora and fauna of Egypt. It is an inverted triangle of land, some 61,000km2 in area, with a northern shoreline on the Mediterranean and its southern sides defined by the Gulfs of Aqaba and Suez of the Red Sea. It is the land connection between Africa and Asia and, at the same time, the land barrier. It is the land connection because in prehistoric times, i.e., until ten thousand years ago, the climate was such that there was a continuous band of non-desert vegetation across Sinai connecting Asia Minor with the Nile Valley. The zoogeographical traces of this connection can be seen in the Swamp Cat Felis chaus and the Bandicoot Rat Nesokia indica. It is the land barrier because, after this time period, the arid wastes of Sinai represented a barrier to any species colonizing the region. Thus, the Swamp Cat and the Bandicoot Rat have become isolates, species of Asiatic origin now separated from their congeners by the relatively recently barren wastes of Sinai.
Sinai, however, cannot be considered as a whole since the north and south of the peninsula are very different. The south can be best represented as a continuation of the Eastern Desert, both geologically and zoogeographically. It too is characterized by mountainous terrain dissected by water-eroded wadis. Many faunal species are common to both zones. Amongst the birds these include the two wheatears, the Mourning and the Hooded Oenanthe monacha, Sand Partridge, Scrub Warbler, and, perhaps (it may not still survive in Sinai), Lammergeier Gypaetus barbatus. Mammals too bridge the two regions. Those typical of both include the Golden Spiny Mouse, Bushy-tailed Jird and, most recently (in terms of discovery), Blanford’s Fox. But no mammal better emphasizes the similar nature of the terrain than the Nubian Ibex.
However, Sinai is also characterized by species found nowhere else in Egypt—a result of the isolationist factors mentioned above. Two butterflies, Pseudophilotes sinaicus and Satyrium jebelia, are endemic to the region. A number of reptile species, including the Sinai Banded Snake Coluber sinai, Crowned Peace-Snake Eirenis coronella, and a subspecies of Ornate Dabb Lizard Uromastyx ocellatus ornatus, are restricted in Egypt to the Sinai Peninsula. Amongst the birds, the list is longer and includes the Sinai Rosefinch Carpodacus synoicus, Palestine Sunbird Nectarinia osea, Arabian Babbler Turdoides squamiceps, and Yellow-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus xanthopygos. Amongst the mammals, there is one possible (on taxonomic grounds) endemic subspecies, namely, the South Sinai Hedgehog Paraechinus aethiopicus dorsalis. Similarly debatable on taxonomic grounds is the Sinai Leopard Panthera pardus jarvisi, now probably extinct. There are no mammal species endemic to Sinai.
North Sinai is characterized by low rolling sand dunes, very different from the mountains of the south. From North Sinai, the Negev Jird Meriones sacramenti and Tristram’s Jird Meriones tristrami are found nowhere else in Egypt, while the Fennec Fox Vulpes zerda and the Sand Cat Felis margarita have also been recorded. Of most interest, however, is the very northeastern corner of Sinai where, as mentioned above, rainfall is higher and a number of fauna! species creep across the border from Palestine and Israel. Foremost amongst the amphibians must be the Tree Frog Hyla savignyi, which can be looked for at the base of date palms near Rafah. Birds such as the Syrian Woodpecker Dendrocopos syriacus and Great Tit Parus major now breed, and mammals such as the recently confirmed Marbled Polecat Vormela peregusna and a porcupine species Hystrix sp. are now known to occur.
One National Park: Ras Muhammad National Park.
Six Protected Areas: Zaranik Protected Area, al-Ahrash Reserve, St. Katherine Protected Area, Nabq Protected Area, Abu Galum Protected Area, Taba Protected Area.
The rocky massif of Gebel Elba in the very southeasternmost part of Egypt is of great faunal significance. Rainfall, largely orographic, makes this region far less hyper-arid than the Eastern Desert to its north. The richer vegetation dominated by Acacia spp. and Euphorbia spp. supports a fauna more akin to the Afro-tropical region than to the Palearctic. A significant proportion of Egypt’s butterfly species are found nowhere else but in Gebel Elba such as the stunning Colotis danae and Charaxes hansali. Much of the area has yet to be properly studied, but the bird fauna alone serves to indicate the African nature of the biome. Rosy-patched Shrike Rhodophoneus cruentus, Shining Sunbird Nectarinia habessinica, and Fulvous Babbler Turdoides fulvus are just three examples. Amongst the mammal species that are recorded only in Gebel Elba are the Aardwolf Proteles cristatus, Zorilla Ictonyx striatus, and Small-spotted Genet Genetta genetta, all of the Afro-tropical faunal community. Wild Ass Equus africanus may still exist in the area.
One Protected Area: Gebel Elba Protected Area.
It is all too common, particularly in the flowery language of the tour guide, to describe the Nile Delta and Valley as ‘timeless’ and ‘unchanging,’ yet this is far from the truth. Few parts of the world have been subjected to such prolonged and intensive human influence, and the present day Nilotic environs are a product of this influence. A cursory glance at the friezes in many of the tombs of the ancients serves to support this stance. Often the pharaoh or noble is portrayed hunting in a swamp of Papyrus Cyperus papyrus for Hippopotamus and Nile Crocodile Crocodylus niloticus. The former is now extinct in Egypt and the latter, since the late nineteenth century, is only found south of the Aswan High Dam. More recently, the Wild Boar Sus scrofa disappeared in 1912. These papyrus swamps are now entirely gone and the only remnant of the original Nilotic vegetation in Egypt now exists on the islands between Aswan and the Old Dam. This is now a Protected Area.
Today, the Delta and Valley of the Nile support an almost entirely exotic flora courtesy of modern agriculture. One need not look any further than the crops grown today. Major crops such as cotton, tomatoes, potatoes, sweet corn (maize), and sugar cane all originate in the Americas. Virtually all the trees seen in the urban environments are exotic and, in the rural areas, the ubiquitous Eucalyptus spp. are an import from Australia. In short, the ancient Egyptian would find the current Nile flora virtually unrecognizable. Familiar species such as Papyrus and Lotus Nymphaea lotus are virtually extinct in the wild.
The current fauna of the Nile Delta and Valley includes the endemic Kassas’s Toad and the Egyptian Square-marked Toad Bufo regularis. Amongst the birds there are a number of species of African origin (for which the Nile has acted as a corridor north) such as the Senegal Coucal Centropus senegalensis, Senegal Thick-knee Burhinus senegalensis, and Black-shouldered Kite Elanus caeruleus. Other typical species include the Common Bulbul Pycnonotus barbatus, Graceful Warbler (Prinia) Prinia gracilis, and Painted Snipe Rostratula benghalensis. Typical mammals include the Egyptian Mongoose Herpestes ichneumon, Striped Weasel Poecilictus libyca, Nile Kusu Arvicanthis niloticus, and the endemic Flower’s Shrew. Some mammals typical of the Delta appear to be African outposts of predominantly western Asiatic distributions, reflecting a cooler, wetter period where the Sinai was not a desert barrier. These include the Swamp Cat and the Bandicoot Rat. Mention should also be made of the commensals characteristic of the agricultural and urban areas. These include the House Mouse Mus musculus, Brown Rat Rattus norvegicus, and House Rat Rattus rattus. It is interesting to note that the Weasel Mustela nivalis is an almost entirely urban animal in Egypt.
Above the Aswan High Dam, the Nile Valley has been inundated to form Lake Nasser. The shores of this lake are, for the most part, barren. However, the lake does support Egypt’s only population of Nile Crocodiles and probably the last remaining Nile Soft-shelled Turtles Trionyx triunguis. Egyptian Geese Alopochen aegyptiacus are common and Afro-tropical species such as Yellow-billed Stork Mycteria ibis, African Skimmer Rynchops flavirostris, and Pink-backed Pelican Pelecanus rufescens are regularly recorded. Jackals Canis aureus and Red Foxes Vulpes vulpes are regularly recorded from the shores and from the islands that emerge and disappear as the lake levels sink and rise.
Six Protected Areas: Saluga and Ghazal Protected Area, Ashtum al-Gamil Protected Area, Wadi al-Rayyan Protected Area, Lake Qarun Protected Area, Lake Burullus Protected Area, and Nile Islands Protected Area.
Egypt has two coastlines, one bordering the Red Sea, extending north to the Gulfs of Aqaba and Suez, and one bordering the Mediterranean. Formerly discrete, these two marine regions are now connected by the Suez Canal though it is still unclear how much interchange there is between the biomes. Certainly there is no evidence that sea mammals are using the channel.
The Red Sea is continuous with the Indian Ocean through the narrow Bab al-Mandab between Yemen and Djibouti. Further north, the Gulfs of Aqaba and Suez are very different in character: the former being much deeper than the latter and supporting richer coral reefs. The marine fauna of the Red Sea is essentially Indo-pacific and includes such warm water species as the Pantropical Spotted Dolphin Stenella attenuata, Spinner Dolphin Stenella longirostris, and Short-finned Pilot Whale Globicephala macrorhynchus. There are very few records of the great whales from the Red Sea and no records of any of the beaked whales. It may be that the shallow water that marks the Bab al-Mandab is a barrier to these deep-water species. The Dugong Dugong dugon is still found, though in much reduced numbers.
The Mediterranean is also virtually a closed sea, connected to the Atlantic by the narrow Straits of Gibraltar. Its waters are too cold for reef-building coral species. As with the Red Sea, there are very few records of the great whales in the Egyptian Mediterranean and no confirmed records of the beaked whales, though Cuvier’s Beaked Whale Ziphius cavirostris could conceivably occur. The Mediterranean Monk Seal Monachus monachus was found along the Egyptian north coast but there have been no records of this species since 1921. With the wholesale development of the Egyptian Mediterranean coastline, it is highly unlikely that this species will return, though there is reportedly a very small population in Libya.
Protected Areas: Each of the coastal southern Sinai Protected Areas extends into the marine environment. The Mediterranean marine environment has no Protected Areas though the lagoon at Zaranik is saline and Lake Bardawil is Egypt’s only designated RAMSAR site. Northern Red Sea Islands Protectorate.
Current Threats and the Status of Egyptian Mammals
The present Egyptian mammal fauna is sadly a much-depleted one. As has been mentioned, within the last two hundred years several species, such as the Addax and Scimitar-horned Oryx, have disappeared completely while many others, especially the larger mammals, have suffered declines. Among the smaller mammals, the Four-toed Jerboa is a cause for concern and several of the bat and shrew species are known from very few specimens. Others such as the Zorilla and the Aardwolf are at the very edge of their range in Egypt and are probably naturally rare.
The most obvious threat to the larger mammals, such as the Nubian Ibex and the gazelle Gazella species, is that of direct hunting. All these species are protected under Egyptian law, but the law is rarely enforced. This hunting is carried out by locals as well as foreign sport hunters, particularly from the Gulf. While hunting in certain strongholds of these species (such as the mountains of South Sinai) has now been controlled with the declaration of an extensive network of Protected Areas, in other, more remote regions it still takes place, such as in the southern Eastern Desert. With the opening up of the coastal regions of the Eastern Desert for tourism, these areas will become more and more accessible causing concern for the local wildlife.
In a country with a rapidly growing population and finite resources, there is inevitable pressure on the environment and habitat destruction is a major threat to many mammal species. Nowhere is this more apparent than along the north coast and the Mediterranean coastal strip. This fragile habitat is disappearing rapidly as tourism advances inexorably and as concrete tourist village after concrete tourist village is constructed. Today, the entire coast from Alexandria to al-Alamein is developed and the development is creeping west at an alarming rate. Quarrying and mining also threaten this habitat. None of this coastline is protected. Inland, ill-planned agricultural development has turned what used to be relatively fertile semi-desert into true desert, as the shallow subsoil is loosened and exposed by plowing. The result is real desert good for neither agriculture nor wildlife. The coast of North Sinai suffers in the same way. The Zaranik Protected Area west of al-Arish at least preserves some of the natural habitat, though even here the vegetation is being denuded by overgrazing. Along the Red Sea coast, tourist development is proceeding at an alarming rate with new centers being developed south of Hurghada at Safaga, Quseir, and Marsa Alam. Except for the recently declared Wadi Gimal Protectorate, there are no Protected Areas along this coast until the Elba Protectorate in the very southeastern part of the country. In all these tourist areas, the opening up of the deserts allows access to four-wheel drive vehicles that can be harmful in churning up the sand, destroying the vegetation, and exposing—thus killing off—dormant seeds, thus reducing future pasture. This has been of particular concern in parts of South Sinai.
Inland, the expansion of the cities into the desert areas and the building of new cities is threatening desert habitat. It was because of these threats that the Wadi Digla Protected Area was declared in 1999. The results of these urban encroachments can be seen along all the main roads leading out of Cairo. An interesting aspect of these urban encroachments is its apparent effect on the distribution of the Red Fox. This species seems to be expanding along the roads following the development into new areas where it seems to out-compete the desert Rüppell’s Sand Fox. In Osborn and Helmy (1980) the Red Fox was virtually unrecorded from Sinai. Today, it can be found as far south as the Ras Muhammad National Park.
In the Delta and Nile Valley, pollution from waste disposal and the use of toxic pesticides and herbicides has probably had an effect on the mammal fauna. This may not necessarily be negative in pure mammal terms (but certainly in ecological terms!). The documented decline in birds of prey such as the Black Kite Milvus migrans and the Black-shouldered Kite may well have resulted in an increase in the numbers of their prey species, such as the Cairo Spiny Mouse Acomys cahirinus and the Nile Kusu. In marine environments, especially the Red Sea extending up the Gulf of Suez, oil pollution may have an effect on marine mammals.
Just how rare many of Egypt’s mammals are is in many cases unclear since very little survey work has been done. Hence, although species like the Lesser White-toothed Shrew Crocidura suaveolens and the Pygmy Pipistrelle Pipistrellus ariel are known from very few Egyptian records, they may prove to be underrecorded rather than actually rare in Egypt. Others, such as the Sinai Leopard, are clearly very rare if indeed extant. Some idea of the status of certain mammal species can be discerned by whether it is listed in the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), to which Egypt is a signatory, or listed by the World Conservation Union (IUCN). It should be noted that an international convention signed by Egypt becomes Egyptian law. CITES species are listed on one of three appendices, the first two of which are relevant to Egypt. Those on Appendix I include “all species threatened with extinction which are or may be threatened by trade.” Trade in these species is only “authorized in exceptional circumstances.” Appendix II lists all those species not currently threatened with extinction by trade but “may become so unless trade in specimens of such species is subject to strict regulation.” All Egyptian species listed on these two appendices are documented as so under status in the species description.
The IUCN listing catalogs the degree to which an animal, or plant, is endangered according to certain criteria. The following categories are used.
Extinct: Extinct or close to extinction.
Endangered: Near to extinction and likely to become extinct unless action is taken.
Vulnerable: Unless action is taken likely to move into the endangered category in the near future.
Indeterminate: Known to be in one of the three categories above but there is too little information to assign to a specific category.
Insufficiently Known: Thought to be in one of the above categories but there is too little known to assign to a specific category.
All taxa listed by the IUCN are published in their Red Data Books. Where an Egyptian mammal is listed under any of the above categories, this is documented under status in the species description. For a full discussion of the international and national legislation relevant to Egyptian wildlife, see Baha El Din (1999).
With so many pressures from every side, it would be easy to dismiss the chances of much of Egypt’s wildlife—and the mammals in particular—surviving very long. Tourism spreads with all its consequences, population grows, urban areas expand, and pollution multiplies. The scenario indeed looks bleak. Where there are laws or international treaties and agreements, enforcement is often lax. Public education is minimal and little is being done to change the preconceptions of people regarding wildlife. No one need look further than the desperate conditions and minimal educational attempts at the Giza Zoo to see that.
However, there are positive developments. In the past twenty years, at least twenty-seven National Parks/Protectorates have been declared. While many need far more financing and resources, others are performing their function of protecting the natural environment. While by no means trouble free, the Protectorates of South Sinai show what can be done—albeit with foreign funding, in this case by the EU. These areas have not only received extensive funding, but also extensive publicity. Ras Muhammad is not only a National Park, it is also world renowned as a dive site and an area of biodiversity of global importance. Sadly, many other such areas receive far less recognition and are open to abuse and violation.
It is of vital importance for a country that treasures its historical heritage so highly that its natural heritage is valued and protected with equal vigor. Whereas the pyramids of Giza, the tombs and temples of Thebes, and other historical sites up and down the Nile Valley receive great attention as part of Egypt’s historical legacy, the same cannot be said for its far, far older and more natural flora and fauna. Too much has been lost already as the coming pages will testify. It is sad to relate that many of the animals and birds held sacred by the ancients are now extinct in modern Egypt: the Sacred Baboon Papio hamadryas, the Sacred Ibis Threskiornis aethiopicus, the Lion Panthera ho, the Crocodile (north of the High Dam), and the Hippopotamus. Yes, climate change has had a role, but one cannot simply ignore human agency.
What is lacking at the moment is a young generation coming forward to treasure what is left and to preserve it. Too often in the recent past there has been talk of captive breeding programs and re-release back into the wild. This is both very expensive and impractical. Captive breeding programs (for species such as the Barbary Sheep) can only work if there are sufficient areas of natural habitat for bred animals to be released back into, if sufficient resources are available, and if, on being released, the safety of the released animals can be assured. None of these guarantees currently exist. The future of what is left of Egypt’s mammals will be best assured by protecting what is left of those species in the wild and assuring the safety of what remains of their habitats. Anything else will be an irresponsible and expensive gamble.
