A Field Guide to the Mammals of Egypt. Richard Hoath

Wild Cat, Swamp Cat, Sand Cat, Caracal, Cheetah, Leopard

       The Cetaceans

      Fin Whale, Sei Whale, Humpback Whale, Sperm Whale, Narwhal, Common Dolphin, Bottle-nosed Dolphin, Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin, Pantropical Spotted Dolphin, Spinner Dolphin, Risso’s Dolphin, Short-finned Pilot Whale, False Killer Whale

       The Sirenians

       Dugong

       The Odd-toed Ungulates

       African Wild Ass

       The Hyraxes

      Rock Hyrax, Yellow-spotted Hyrax

       The Even-toed Ungulates

      Addax, Scimitar-horned Oryx, Dorcas Gazelle, Slender-horned Gazelle, Mountain Gazelle, Ibex, Barbary Sheep

       The Rodents

      Giza Gerbil, Anderson’s Gerbil, Large North African Gerbil, Wagner’s Gerbil, Lesser Egyptian Gerbil, Pygmy Gerbil, Mackilligin’s Gerbil, Baluchistan Gerbil, Greater Egyptian Gerbil, Pallid Gerbil, Lesser Short-tailed Gerbil, Silky Jird, Libyan Jird, Shaw’s Jird, Tristram’s Jird, Negev Jird, Fat-tailed Jird, Fat Sand Rat, Bushy-tailed Jird, Four-toed Jerboa, Lesser Egyptian Jerboa, Greater Egyptian Jerboa, Cairo Spiny Mouse, Golden Spiny Mouse, House Mouse, Nile Kusu, House Rat, Brown Rat, Bandicoot Rat, Middle Eastern Dormouse, Crested Porcupine, Lesser Molerat

       The Lagomorphs

       Cape Hare

       Glossary

       Selected Bibliography

       Indexes

Acknowledgments

      The genesis of this guide came way back in 1989 when I was writing a profile of one of Egypt’s leading naturalists, Ibrahim Helmy, for what was then Cairo Today. Having patiently endured several interviews for the piece, Ibrahim, with his customary generosity, handed me a copy of the key work on Egyptian mammals he had written with Dale Osborn, both then of the Naval Medical Research Unit No. 3 (NAMRU), The Contemporary Land Mammals of Egypt (including Sinai). Within these pages I discovered the incredible variety of Egypt’s mammal fauna and for this gesture, and many others, I owe Ibrahim a huge debt. Also key in opening my eyes to the mammals of not only Egypt but the region has been David Harrison of the Harrison Institute in Sevenoaks in England. Each summer over the past few years, David has opened the doors of his Institute to me and allowed me access to his invaluable collection, without which many of the color plates in this book would not have been possible. He made many useful comments on the plates and has also shared his thoughts on subjects as diverse as the Sinai Leopard and gerbil taxonomy. Thanks also to Paul Bates. Another inspiration has been Sherif Baha El Din, with whom I have had the pleasure of sharing several expeditions, and whose skills as a field naturalist constantly astound. Thanks also to his wife Mindy Baha El Din for her zest and enthusiasm and to Dina Aly and Rank Khalil for their dedication to Egyptian wildlife. Of the many experts who unselfishly shared their knowledge with me I would particularly like to thank John Grainger of the St. Katherine Protectorate and the wardens who work so hard there under the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA), and also Tim Wacher. Thanks also to Waheed Salama, also of the EEAA, and his staff for their help and assistance in the Zaranik Protected Area. My introduction to the sea mammals of the Red Sea was courtesy of Michael Pearson, whose contribution to the conservation of Sinai should never be underrated. Any acknowledgement of the EEAA over recent years must include Salah Hafez and Mustafa Fouda.

      I would like to thank the librarians at the British Museum of Natural History and at the Zoological Society of London, especially Ann Sylph, for their patience and assistance.

      At the American University in Cairo I owe a huge debt of gratitude to all the faculty, past and present, of the Biology Department for their knowledge and support. The late Ken Horner was my first contact with the department but it is to Derek Russell that I owe an especial debt of thanks for his company and guidance on many desert trips and for sharing his experience and knowledge over many a campfire. Andy Main very kindly checked the manuscript through for taxonomic blips and on several occasions saved me deep embarrassment. I would like to thank him for his thoroughness