Several Israeli soldiers were attacked and injured on 18 March by a lynx of purportedly Egyptian origin (wildcat) which Israel media reports claimed snuck through the Egyptian-Israeli border.
The reports said the soldiers were stationed in a military base near the border and that the cat was captured and was being examined. The news aroused the interest of social media users, especially in Egypt, with trending posts providing intriguing details about the animal, its species, behaviour, and habitat.
According to Israeli reports, inspectors from the Israeli Nature and Parks Authority, assisted by a veterinarian, captured the lynx and took it to a veterinary hospital for examination. However, no details have been disclosed regarding the animal’s fate, with reports stating that the predatory feline infiltrated through the Egyptian side of the border.
Abdallah Nagi, a professor at the Faculty of Science at Al-Azhar University and a specialist in zoology, told Al-Ahram Weekly that the lynx is found across large parts of Africa and Asia and that in Egypt, it lives in Sinai and the Eastern Desert.
“The most recent confirmed sightings were five months ago when a young man went hunting for a lynx in the Taba Reserve, and four months ago when a Bedouin reported an encounter,” Nagi said.
“The lynx is predominantly nocturnal, making sightings rare. Its hunting prowess is exceptional; it can leap up to three metres high to catch a bird,” Nagi noted.
Ancient Egyptians depicted the lynx on temple walls as a protector against the evils of certain deities, he added, pointing out that the lynx is not classified as globally endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List.
“However, it is increasingly threatened in Egypt due to habitat destruction, the declining populations of its prey, and unregulated hunting,” Nagi said, referring to the lynx as Um Al-Rishat as it is commonly known in Egypt.
The zoologist stated that the attack on the Israeli soldiers took place in the Mount Harif area of the Negev Desert, east of Egypt’s Qaseema region.
The cause of the attack remains unknown, Nagi continued, adding that “the lynx is a nocturnal predator that generally avoids human encounters. It may have been suffering from rabies which could cause aggressive and erratic behaviour or it may have been driven by hunger due to environmental threats.”
Um Al-Rishat is a member of the Felidae family, such as lions and tigers, weighing between seven and 19 kg. It ranges between 60 and 90 cm in height and its maximum speed is 80 km/h. Nagi added that the lynx’s lifespan is 12 to 15 years in the wild, extending to 20 years in captivity.
Equipped with long fangs and sharp claws and capable of climbing and making impressive leaps, the lynx preys on rodents, wild rabbits, and birds, but is also known to hunt larger animals such as deer, monkeys, sheep, and goats.
“There is no proof that the captured lynx originated from Egypt,” Nagi said, stating that despite its predatory nature, the lynx has no recorded attacks on humans and that its diet remains focused on small animals.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 27 March, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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