Tag: St. Katherine’s

Rock Hyrax

On By Bernadette SimpsonIn Mammals2 Comments

Rock Hyrax (Procavia capensis) are not the most commonly spotted creature in the wadis, but they may be the most fascinating!

An image of a lone rock hyrax sitting on a rock in the sun.
“Common Rock Hyrax, South Africa” by Dave Govoni, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0


Rock Hyraxes, called wabr in Arabic, are tailless and have small, round ears and a very short neck that gives the impression that their heads have been stuck directly on their bodies. Their short snouts are pointed and have black whiskers. Their eyes are large and dark with a pale patch of fur above their them. The coats are short and dense but longer hairs that are sensitive to touch are scattered throughout.

With their stout, rabbit-like bodies, Rock Hyraxes are often mistaken for rodents (order Rodentia) but they actually belong to the order Hyracoidea, and their closest living relatives are elephants, manatees, and dugongs.

One of their most interesting features are their distinctive feet. The forefoot has four short toes. The hindfoot, however, has three short toes and one elongated one that is separated from the others and has a curved claw that is used to grasp⁴. The soles of their feet are rubber-like and kept moist by glandular secretions which allows their feet to act like suction cups. These structures of their feet make them very adept climbers, perfect for scrambling over the rocky areas and cliffs that they call home.

“Rock hyrax” by David Nunn, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Rock Hyraxes feed mainly on vegetation, predominantly the seeds and leaves of acacia trees, but they may eat a wide range of other food including insects and small reptiles. Juveniles must eat hyrax poop in order to acquire the gut bacteria needed to digest plants. Adults can even eat plants, such as nightshades and spurges, that are poisonous to other animals, and they don’t need to drink water.

“Rock hyrax” by orientalizing, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

While Rock Hyraxes have excellent sight, hearing, and scent, they are not great at regulating their body temperatures. They will, therefore, bask in the sun during the day or heap together to keep warm.

“Watchers” by Steve Crane, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Rock Hyraxes typically live in colonies and can be quite vocal. Several members of the group act as lookouts and use a sharp alarm call to alert others to dangerous predators – birds of prey, jackals, wild cats, foxes, and leopards. Male hyraxes also sing to attract females and apparently those that can keep a more steady beat get more mates.¹

The only Rock Hyraxes I have seen were, many years ago, those kept by Ramadan in his garden in Wadi Arba’een (St. Katherine). I do, however, come across their scat in the wadis around Dahab. Rock Hyraxes use communal latrines, meaning that the waste from all the hyraxes in a colony accumulates in one spot, called a midden. The waste slowly crystallizes into layers, trapping pollen, grains, and other substances similar to amber, fossilized tree resin. For scientists, these Rock Hyrax middens contain evidence of the past that is helping them understand climate change² and possibly even human development³.

The subspecies of Rock Hyrax that lives in South Sinai is Procavia capensis syriaca. Sadly, it’s been reported that their population has been greatly reduced due to hunting and the clearance of acacia trees, their main food source, to make charcoal⁴. However, in the high mountain region of South Sinai, they are likely to consume other vegetation, like the leaves of wild fig trees, and the Jebeliya Bedouin attribute the decline in Rock Hyrax numbers to an increase in Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes), a predator. There have been no studies to confirm this though⁵.

Have you spotted a Rock Hyrax in South Sinai?

1 – Why these furry male mammals sing with humanlike rhythm. (2022, September 16). Animals. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/why-these-furry-male-mammals-sing-with-human-like-rhythm

2 – Fuzzy Critters’ Crystallized Pee Changes Climate Record? (2026). Animals. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/101015-urine-pee-rock-hyrax-climate-science-ancient-prehistoric

3 – Cutts, E. (2023, April). Stone Age Animal Urine Could Solve a Mystery about Technological Development. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/stone-age-animal-urine-could-solve-a-mystery-about-technological-development/

4 – Hoath, R. (2003). A Field Guide to the Mammals of Egypt. Amer Univ in Cairo Press.

5 – Coals P, Gilbert F. Notes on hyrax in South Sinai’s highmountains. AFROTHERIAN CONSERVATION. 2015;(11):5-8.

Huntsman Spider

On By Bernadette SimpsonIn Arthropods2 Comments

I have not been able to photograph a huntsman spider yet, but a friend in St. Katherine has and generously shared her pictures so I could write a post about this beauty!

This is a spider in the huntsman family of spiders (Sparassidae), specifically Eusparassus walckenaeri. There are 33 spiders in the Eusparassus genus, and they can be found in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Peru. Huntsman spiders are known for their incredible speed. In fact, it’s because of their lightning speed that the Jebeleya Bedouin call them beraira.

These huntsman spiders are large with flat bodies that are dark brown to orange-brown in color, with a pattern of spots and chevrons. The bodies can be from 1 to 2.5 cm in length, with the females being larger. The legs have dark bands of color and, although the legs of most spiders are perpendicular to their bodies, the legs of huntsman spiders are not. Their legs are angled and twisted in such a way that they move with a sideways crab-like motion. (Huntsman spiders are sometimes called giant crab spiders.)

Huntsman spiders are nocturnal hunters and feed on small and large insects, especially cockroaches, so a spider would be a welcome find in your home! And there’s no reason to be afraid of them; their venom won’t hurt you.

While these spiders may be imposing hunters, they are, of course, prey to other animals, especially to a family of wasps known as “spider wasps” (Pompilidae). A female spider wasp uses its venomous sting to paralyze a spider and then drags the spider to her nest or burrow. There, she lays an egg on the spider, which is anesthetized but alive. The wasp larva hatches and proceeds to feed on the spider, saving the vital organs for last, until it finally spins a cocoon and eventually emerges as an adult wasp.

These huntsman spiders can be found in open ground, but I have never spotted one in the wadis. They can also be found indoors and I’m pretty sure I have seen (some species of) huntsman spiders scuttle through the communal seating area of a camp in Ras Sidr. Have you spotted these huntsman spiders in South Sinai?

Resources:
Aly, D. & Khalil, R. (2011). Wildlife in South Sinai. Cairo. Funded by the E.U. in cooperation with G.O.S.S.

Bees in Sinai

On By Bernadette SimpsonIn ArthropodsLeave a comment

“Sinai is one of the very few places in the world (and it may be unique) where no social bees of any kind occur naturally, only solitary bees…Recently hives of domesticated social honeybees have been brought in from Egypt, and scientists are worried about their impact on the wild bees, and hence on the efficiency with which native plants are pollinated. ” ~ Gardens of a Sacred Landscape: Bedouin Heritage and Natural History in the High Mountains of Sinai by Samy Zalat and Francis Gilbert

Bees in Sinai

Pictured here:
Top Right: Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa sp), which you can learn more about in this post.
Bottom Right: Leafcutter Bee (Coelioxys sp), which you can learn more about in this post.

There have been several reports in the past year of hives of social bees in Dahab and Nuweiba. After reading the book quoted above, I have been fascinated about their possible impact on the native solitary bees and plants, so I did a bit of research and found two very interesting articles:

Human interference in the natural order of our ecosystems is not always a good thing. I’ll be thinking twice now about buying honey from St. Katherine’s…

Sinai Rosefinch

On By Bernadette SimpsonIn Birds2 Comments

Although the national bird of Jordan, this finch is named after Egypt’s Sinai and lives in our dry, rocky desert areas. The male Sinai Rosefinch (Carpodacus synoicus) is easily identified by its crimson-pink plumage. Females and juveniles are a greyish brown color.

sinai-rosefinch-3

Sinai Rosefinch
Sinai Rosefinch by Alastair Rae, CC via Flickr

Sinai Rosefinches eat seeds and are often seen in groups. I spotted this group on top of Jebel Musa.
sinai-rosefinch-4

These finches grow to about 14 – 16 cm and breed in a small area of Sinai, southern Israel, and southern Jordan.

As I’ve mentioned before, photographing birds is not one of my talents, so check out this page with some beautiful images of Sinai Rosefinches and the video below.