Feature: Return of the sacred ibis

Egypt Today (Richard Hoath)

Egypt Today's regular natural history feature looks at the Ibis and discusses the possible return to Egypt of the type of ibis which was identified with the ancient Egyptian deity Thoth.

The ancient Egyptians venerated a number of deities in animal form but rarely has that veneration been of much benefit to these species in modern Egypt. Most are extinct. Sekhmet, the lion-headed goddess, was venerated as the daughter of Ra but the Lion disappeared from here centuries ago. Taweret, who looked over women during childbirth, was portrayed with the head of a Hippopotamus but the hippo died out at least 200 years ago through hunting and habitat destruction. Sobek was worshipped as the crocodile deity, a symbol of royal power, but the Nile Crocodile has been wiped out north of the High Dam. Thoth, represented as a baboon or an ibis, was master of the scribes, but the present day Sacred Baboon and Sacred Ibis have both disappeared from modern Egypt. The good news for one of these species, reported in Nature Conservation Egypt (NCE)’s first e-newsletter www.nceegypt.org, is that the Sacred Ibis might just be on the verge of returning.

The link to NCE doesn't function, at the time of writing.