The ostrich in Egypt: past and present

Abstract

Aim This article tracks the evolution of the distribution of ostrich populations, Struthio camelus L., 1758, in Egypt from the Late Pleistocene up to present times with a view to establishing a series of distribution maps for the historical period. An attempt is then made to describe and interpret these maps.Location The country considered is Egypt.Methods We compiled all the information about the presence of the ostrich in Egypt collected from the study of fossil remains, archaeological materials and from the narrative of travellers since the fourteenth century. From the accounts of these travellers, three maps showing the location of this birds in this country are established: from the end of the fourteenth century to the end of the seventeenth century; from the beginning of the eighteenth to the end of the nineteenth century; and lastly, for the twentieth century. ResultsThe ostrich was abundant and broadly distributed in Egypt in the past. However, it has been constantly in decline. It disappeared from the north of the country and lived only in the southeast up to the end of the nineteenth century. The birds reappeared in the latter region at the beginning of the 1960s up to 1991 before disappearing from the country. Main conclusionsThe principal reasons for the decline of the ostrich in Egypt are the aridi®cation caused by climatic changes and intensive hunting by humans. It is possible that this bird was not sighted in the country between the beginning of the twentieth century and the 1960s, not because it had disappeared, but most probably because it was suf®ciently discrete to be noticed.

Megafaunal extinction in the late Quaternary and the global overkill hypothesis

“…The oversimplification of complex phenomena may generate misconceptions and constrain the development of effective conservation strategies for living taxa. Many species are currently disappearing for reasons that are unclear and untangling the significance of various, mostly anthropogenic influences in the decline of living taxa remains a daunting challenge (Bowman 2001, Manlius 2001). There may even be fundamental limits to our ability to explain ecological phenomena (Castelli & Casper2001).…”

The wild ostrich (Struthio camelus): a review

“…Wild ostriches disappeared from northern Egypt and lived only in the southeast up to the end of 19 th century. They reappeared in the latter region in early 1960s-1991 before vanishing (Manlius 2001). The principal reason for their decline was aridification, caused by climatic changes, and intensive hunting by man.…”

Current conservation status of Ratites

“…Ostriches were hunted since earliest times mainly for their feathers (Manlius 2001). At around 1859 it became evident that if buyers in Europe were to depend solely on feathers from wild birds hunted down in remote parts of Africa, birds would soon either become extinct, or they would be driven to parts where it would be extremely hard to get hold of them.…”