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Wildlife
in The Libyan Sahara

The Sahara is the largest desert in the world. Temperatures are
high during the day and low at night; during the winter temperatures
can fall below freezing point. The highest temperature in the world
was recorded in Libya on the 13th of September 1922, in el-Azizia,
close to Tripoli: a staggering 136.4 degree Fahrenheit (or 58 degrees
Celsius). Occasionally, dust from the Sahara has been carried as
far as Germany and the United Kingdom. In prehistoric
times the Sahara was significantly wetter, but climatic desiccation
over the past few thousand years has destroyed much of its wildlife.
Today the Sahara is covered with rocks and stones (H'ammadah),
sand and sparse vegetation, most of which is scatterings of salt
bush and alfalfa and esparto grasses.
The
flora of the Sahara is estimated to include about 1,200 species,
consisting mainly of xerophytes and ephemeral plants, with
halophytes in moister areas, and Acacia, Tamarisk and Calotropis
procera along the wadis. However, according to another scientific
study, the Sahara's flora still includes about 3000
species.
The fauna of the
Sahara includes about 70 species of mammals, 90 species of
resident birds, and around 100 species of reptiles. Owing to extreme
heat, most small desert creatures are nocturnal. The populations
of these species have been greatly reduced by over-hunting and
many are now endangered species, like the ostrich, addax, some
species of gazelles and the cheetah. Most of the African large
mammals that were reported to have been present in the desert until
the second half of the 19th century have now become extinct. Some
of these animals can be seen in Fezzan Park, and also in Tripoli's
zoo.

ground-creeping, inedible, wild gourds, the
size of small melons. The milky sap of these gourds is used as
a remedy for scorpion stings.

Life
But how do plants survive in the desert?
For plants to survive in the desert, they must invent ingenious
ways to deal with lack of water. Shrubs and trees have extensive
root systems which can penetrate as far as 50 metres into the ground;
tamarisk and acacia have short, fat trunks that act as reservoirs
for excess water. The seeds of ephemerals germinate only after
heavy rain, and then very quickly consume their entire life-cycle;
producing brightly coloured flowers to attract insects. Grasses,
however, develop large and complex root systems for collecting
water over a wide area, enabling them to survive when the
over ground parts are scorched to death.
Geophytes survive by remaining underground as bulbs, and like ephemerals,
they quickly grow and develop when rain comes. Saharan succulents,
like euphorbia, suck the extra water to store for later. Some
insects collect moisture from the air and then direct it as droplets
of water into their mouths. While the desert-ships (the camels)
vary their bodies' temperature according to conditions: low when
it is cool, and high when hot; when they are thirsty, transpiration
drops to zero.
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Some of the main animals
and insects that can be found in the Sahara include
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- Scarab Beetles
- Ants
- Locusts
- Ostriches
- Chameleon
- Spiders
- Snakes (serpents, pythons, cobras, horned viper, sand snakes, etc.)
- Scorpions
- Mosquitoes
- Jackals
- Fennec foxes (Vulpes zerda, Vulpes rueppellii, Vulpes pallida)
- Vultures
- Crows
- Eagles
- Hawks
- Moula Moula bird ('the messenger')
- Beetles
- Pigeons
- Brown-necked ravens
- Mouse-like jerboas
- Desert rodents: gundi
- Lizards
- Goats
- Oxen
- Brown desert larks
- Desert sparrow
- Rock martins
- Small moths
- Flies
- Leaf bugs
- Antelopes (Leucoryx)
- Camels
- Hyenas
- Wildcats
- Porcupines
- Gazelles
- Waddan (large goatlike deer)
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Desert Camels:
Camels are nearly 50 million years old; and, like horse, were
as big as domesticated cats, living in North America's
forests. By 12 million years ago, several types of camels
evolved, including the one-meter-tall Procamelus of the Camelus
genus, from which modern camels descended. The Camelus crossed
North America to Asia, some 3 million years ago, and then
reached Africa rather recently (between 4 and 3 thousand
years ago). 90 % of
camels are dromedaries (with one hump), most of which live in
North/East Africa. On average camels can travel the hot Sahara
for two weeks without drinking water, slowly loosing weight;
and when water is found, their large stomachs can carry as much
as 100 litres of water. Camels do not carry water in their humps,
which are mainly fat.
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Libyan Serpents:
There are about 95 species of reptiles in the Sahara, consisting
mainly of three types: lizards, snakes and tortoises. Although
most of them are small creatures, the desert monitor lizard
can reach up to 1.5 meters long. Unlike other vertebrates reptiles
are cold-blooded and therefore are unable to produce their
own heat. They live on insects and small mammals, and their
thick skin helps them minimises water loss.
There are about 400 species of snakes in Africa
today, 90 of which are venomous. According to classical Greek
sources the Sahara was infested with serpents, mythical and
real, like those of the Libyan Gorgon Medusa. Libyan traditions
state that snakes are harmless if they are left alone. However,
be reminded
that when travelling in the desert it is best to avoid disturbing
stones and small rocks, and if you have to, like when camping,
then be aware of scorpions and serpents, some of which are
deadly. Camping preparations should always take place in full
day light and never at night. If you see snakes sneaking about,
then learn to leave them alone and keep a safe distance from
them, and remember to never corner a snake or a cobra as they
might attack before you get a chance to react.
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Gazelle Species:
- Scimitar-Horned Oryx (now extinct in the wild)
- Dorcas Gazelle (Gazella dorcas)
- Dama Gazelle (Gazella dama)
- Red-Fronted Gazelle
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Sahara Foxes:
- Fennec (Vulpes zerda): small, clever fox, with
large ears, capable of tracking down lizards and beetles at night
from their slightest sounds.
- Ruppell's (Vulpes rueppellii)
- Pale fox (Vulpes pallida).
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Desert Crocodiles:
Crocodiles were the masters of the Sahara some 100 million years
ago, and were very common to the Sahara, especially in large
lakes and rivers, until a century ago. Today, some survived in
small numbers, particularly in the Ennedi mountains of
Chad and the Tagant in Mauritania.
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Sahara Scorpions:
Insects are very numerous in the Sahara,
especially scorpions, termites, ants, sacred scarab beetles,
spiders, and the most devastating of all the locusts, which
can cover massive areas very quickly and consume entire fields
in a matter of minutes. Most desert insects are nocturnal and
the secret of their survival is their hard,
crusty and waxy skin which minimises water loss, in addition
to hiding under rocks (like scorpions) and under the sand (like
centipedes). Scorpion are the most deadly of the desert's insects
and some of the species can kill in a matter of minutes. They
administer their poison from their tail sting, which if cut away
the scorpion becomes edible. Scorpions get their fluids from
their prey and thus they rarely drink. If scorpions
are left alone and not disturbed, they, like serpents, are harmless
and rarely attack humans for no reason. Stepping over them accidentally,
however, forces them to attack, thinking they
were attacked.
If you have been stung by a scorpion, then you should get help
as soon as you can. Meanwhile, you can tie your belt or any string
above the the affected area, if possible, to stop the spread
of poison, and try and let some blood out by making a small cut.
If you come across ground-creeping wild gourds, as pictured above,
then it might be handy to keep one in your bag, as they are traditionally
used by the Tuareg to treat scorpion stings, by applying their
milky sap to the affected area. There are those who say one should
not attempt the traditional remedy and should get help instead.
But then how one can get help in the desert? Traditional Environmental
Knowledge, known as TEK to scientists, is currently being collected
from around the world as human heritage, and most of it, if not
all, is rather impressive.
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acacia
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Some of the main plants that can be found in the Sahara
desert
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- Date Palms
- Thorny Palms
- Thorny acacias
- Scrubby bushes
- Euphorbia
- Olive-hued shrubs
- Orange trees
- Oleander
- Fig trees
- Oleander trees
- Tamarind
- Alfalfa grass
- Esparto grass
- Oat grass
- Tamarisk
- Anrthirrnum ramosissimuma
- Ononis angustissima
- Cypress
- Artemisia
- Thyme
- Eragrostis
- Panicum
- Aristida
- Ground-creeping inedible wild gourds.
- Olive trees (olives and olive oil promote healthy living
and skin, long life, and vitality).
- Magaria (a tree bearing a fruit
the size of a cherry and of light brown colour. When dry it
is pounded and formed into little cakes).
- Tribulus (blooms after
desert rainfall).
- Calotropis (the milky sap released when the stem
is broken is poisonous and should be avoided).
- Cornulaca monacantha (blooms after
desert rainfall, liked by camels).
Please click
here for a comprehensive Latin-Tuareg
list of plants in the Sahara.
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