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
