Animals in Ancient Egypt for Kids - what kinds of animals lived in ancient Egypt? Where did they live? What did they eat?

Animals in Ancient Egypt

A lot of different kinds of animals lived in ancient Egypt. Wild animals included crocodiles, who lived in the Nile River water (and there are still lots of crocodiles in the Nile today, too!), and lots of water birds like herons and cranes and ibises who lived along the banks of the Nile (and still do today). People were most afraid of the hippopotamus, which was a fierce animal that lived in the river.

There were also a lot of frogs and lizards and fish who lived in the river and along its banks. There were many ducks and geese.
On the land, there were gazelles and camels.

crocodile
Crocodile
egret
Egret
gazelle
Gazelle
frog
Frog
hippopotamus
Hippopotamus
camel
Camels

And the ancient Egyptians had tame (domesticated) animals as well, like donkeys, camels, cattle, and sheep and goats. They also had pet cats.

cat
Cat (Abyssinian)
donkey
Donkeys

To find out more about Egyptian animals, check out these books on Amazon.com or in your local library:

Farming & Food (The Ancient Egyptians), by Jane Shuter (1998). For kids.

Everyday Life in Ancient Egypt, by Lionel Casson (revised edition 2001). Not especially for kids, but pretty entertaining reading, and Casson knows what he's talking about.

The Cat in Ancient Egypt, by Jaromir Malek (1997).

Main Egyptian environment page
Main Egyptian page
Main Environment page


Cite this page: Carr, Karen (PhD).

Kidipede - History for Kids. 2012.
http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/egypt/environment/animals.htm