Animals in Egypt: desert wildlife, birds, camels and where to see them

What animals live in Egypt?

Egypt is mostly desert, so its wild animals are built for heat and little water. Most come out at night. In daylight you see the animals people keep: camels, horses, donkeys, water buffalo and goats.

The wild ones split into three groups. Desert mammals live in the Western Desert, the Eastern Desert and Sinai. Birds gather along the Nile and pass overhead on migration. The Red Sea holds the richest wildlife of all, on its coral reefs.

The big African animals people sometimes expect are absent. There are no lions, elephants or giraffes in the wild. Egypt is a place for small, shy desert animals and a lot of birds.

What is Egypt's national animal?

Egypt has no national animal set in law that we could find. The nearest thing is the golden eagle on the state emblem. It sits in the white band of the flag, holding a scroll with the country's name.

Egyptians call it the Eagle of Saladin, after the twelfth-century ruler of Egypt. The State Information Service and the presidency's website both describe the flag's golden eagle.

Many websites name a national bird, often the steppe eagle. We found no official source for that, so treat it as a popular claim. For ancient Egypt, the animals that mattered most were sacred ones. Our page on animals in ancient Egypt covers them.

Desert mammals: fennec fox, Nubian ibex, gazelle and golden wolf

The fennec fox is a small, sand-coloured fox with very large ears. It lives in the deserts of mainland Egypt and Sinai. The IUCN Red List rates it Least Concern. You are most likely to see one near a desert camp after dark.

The Nubian ibex is a wild goat with long, curved horns that lives in rocky desert mountains. The IUCN lists it as Vulnerable, with Egypt in its range. The dorcas gazelle is a small, pale gazelle of open desert. It is also listed as Vulnerable. Hunting and lost habitat are the main threats.

The animal older books call the Egyptian jackal has a new name. A 2015 genetic study showed it is a separate species from the Eurasian golden jackal. It is now called the African golden wolf, Canis lupaster. Many guidebooks still call it a jackal.

Seeing any of these takes luck and patience. A night in the White Desert or a walk in the Sinai mountains gives you the best chance. Go with a local guide, and stay quiet at dawn and dusk.

Birds in Egypt: Nile birds and the great migration

Egypt sits on one of the world's main routes for migrating birds. Each spring and autumn, eagles, buzzards, storks and pelicans fly between Africa and Europe. They follow the Red Sea and cross at the Gulf of Suez and Sinai.

The numbers are large. A 2013 study puts the yearly flow on this route at over one and a half million soaring birds. At one spot south of Suez, counters logged 183,275 soaring birds of 28 species in spring 2012. Three in four of the birds of prey were steppe buzzards.

The Nile is easier birdwatching. From a cruise deck you see herons lifting off the banks, and birds working the fields and reed beds. Bring binoculars if birds matter to you. The quiet stretches between temples are the best time to use them.

Nile crocodiles and other reptiles

Nile crocodiles no longer live in the Nile through Luxor or Aswan. They were hunted out of that stretch before the High Dam was finished. Today they live in numbers in Lake Nasser, above the dam.

Most travellers never see a live one. The crocodiles at Kom Ombo are mummies, in the small museum beside the temple. If a tout offers you a live crocodile on the river, it is a show for tourists.

The desert also has lizards, snakes and scorpions. They hide by day. Wear closed shoes on desert walks, and shake out boots left outside a tent overnight.

Camels, horses and donkeys: what to know before you ride

Egypt's camels are dromedaries, the one-humped kind. You meet them at Giza, on the camel path up Mount Sinai, and on desert trips. Horses pull the carriages in Luxor and Edfu. Donkeys still do farm work in the villages.

Animal welfare is uneven. At Giza, some horses and camels are visibly in poor shape. You can choose not to ride, or choose an animal that looks healthy and rested. Walk away if the animal is thin, lame, has sores or is being beaten.

Brooke, the animal welfare charity, began in Cairo. Dorothy Brooke opened a free hospital for the city's old war horses there in 1934. Its Egyptian arm, the Brooke Hospital for Animals Egypt, still works with the country's horses and donkeys.

Agree any price before you get on, and expect a hard sell at Giza. A flat, polite no works better than a long debate. Our page on scams and touts in Egypt has more.

Red Sea wildlife: reefs, turtles, dolphins and sharks

For most visitors, the Red Sea is where Egypt's wildlife really shows up. One snorkel shows you hundreds of reef fish, coral and often a turtle. Green turtles graze in the seagrass bays near Marsa Alam.

Spinner dolphins rest in some reef lagoons by day, and the rare dugong feeds in a few sheltered bays. Sharks live here too, mostly far from the beaches.

Our guide to Red Sea marine life covers what you will see and where. Our page on sharks in the Red Sea covers the species and the risk.

Where to see wildlife in Egypt: the protected areas

Ras Mohammed, at the tip of Sinai, became Egypt's first national park in 1983. It protects some of the best reef in the Red Sea. Sinai also lies on the migration route, so birds pass overhead in spring and autumn.

Wadi El-Rayan in Faiyum, south-west of Cairo, became a protected area in 1997. Inside it lies Wadi Al-Hitan, or Whale Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2005. Its fossils show early whales that still had small hind legs. Cars are kept out, and you walk the trails between the skeletons.

The Saint Catherine area in the Sinai mountains has been protected since 1988 and on the UNESCO list since 2002. UNESCO names its rare plants and wildlife as reasons for the protection. Mount Sinai sits inside it.

The Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency runs these protected areas. Fees and rules change, so check at the gate.

Sacred animals in ancient Egypt

Ancient Egyptians gave many of their gods animal forms. Sobek was a crocodile, Horus a falcon, Bastet a cat and Thoth an ibis or a baboon. Millions of animals were mummified as offerings to these gods.

You can see the evidence on a normal trip. Kom Ombo has its crocodile museum, and Saqqara has the bull burials of the Serapeum. Our page on animals in ancient Egypt tells the full story.