Wild & Endangered Animals

There are a number of endangered species of animals in Egypt and we do our best to help treat or rescue any that we see.  We also try to keep an eye in the pet stores for the illegal sale of endangered species.  There are also lots of wild animals and birds of interest to see in Egypt, and in Luxor.

Egyptian Tortoise

We have Egyptian tortoises here at the centre which Kim rescued.  Egyptian Tortoises are an endangered species on CITES Appendix # 1.

Kim saw these 6 for sale in a local pet shop,  and after much negotiation with a very unhappy shop owner, managed to get him to relinquish them to our care.

The pet shop owner has also signed a declaration saying that he will not own or sell another tortoise for the rest of his life!  Another ACE Success story!

They are now kept full time here at the centre and are an important part of our education programme.  These "Moving stones" are shown up close to the children who come to us for our education programme, and we teach them that they are not dangerous, and that they should be allowed to live safely in the fields, and not feared.

Swamp Cats

These animals are incredibly cute and very rare.  They look like wild cats, yet have webbed feet!

One morning on the way to ACE we were amazed to see this Swamp Cat just at the end of the road leading to the centre, holding up the traffic just waiting for us to rescue him.  He was starving hungry and thirsty, but fortunately able to feed himself if the food is there.

He may be a cross breed (which is unusual) as his tail is a little long and his ears don't have much of a tuft but he has real Swampy claws and all!