The dry highland dome above is home to Earth's highest density of rodents and the Egyptian Wolf which digs them up.

The name is taken from the name of an Egyptian wolf god, one of whose names was Wepwawet or Sed.

Examples of large mammals that are either extinct or severely endangered in the Mediterranean woodlands and forests of North Africa are the Egyptian Wolf, the Atlas Bear, the Barbary Lion and the Barbary Leopard.

The jackal [Note: recent genetic studies show that the Egyptian jackal is actually a form of the grey wolf and has thus been renamed the "Egyptian Wolf"] was strongly associated with cemeteries in ancient Egypt, since it was a scavenger which threatened to uncover human bodies and eat their flesh.