Flora and Fauna of Libya

People had said to me that we would not see much wildlife in the desert but there was life everywhere. Every morning there were fresh tracks around the camp sites. Desert mice, desert rats (we saw both of these) Desert foxes, birds, insects and reptiles all came to investigate us each night. There were ants everywhere, and beetles. Flies seemed to find us no problem.We saw dragonflies crossing the desert miles from water. Swallows and House Martins migrating across the desert. There were tough plants surviving from the rainy season, December to January (it's not really a rainy season in the Asian sense of the word merely it rains a bit!) Click on a thumbnail to download a larger version of the image.

Coastal areas of Libya have much more vegetation because that is where most people live. Many introduced species, such as these pines, have been planted to try and stop the encroachment of the desert. Photo: Dave Seales	Poppies, palms and pylons. A strange mix of red field poppies and date palms. Photo: Brian Seales	We expected to see very little in the way of wildlife and plants in the desert. Whereas nothing leaps out at you there is still plenty to see. These tough grasses survive in depressions between the sand dunes. Photo: Brian Seales
Acacia tortilis raddiana. The only large tree you will see in the desert. Photo: Dave Seales	Up close you can see how this Acacia protects itself when young. Viscious spines which also help collect whatever moisture is the morning air . Photo: Brian Seales	The wadi's, dried riverbeds, were the best places to look for plants and wildlife. Photo: Brian Seales
Pergularia tomentosa in a wadi. A strange plant which left a sticky sap on hands and clothes. Photo: Brian Seales	Lotus arabicus. A pretty low growing plant in the same family as the famous Irish shamrock. Photo: Brian Seales	Morettia canescens. A prostrate plant with tiny white flowers Photo: Brian Seales
Zilla spinosa. A small shrub which is past its best looking in this photo. Photo: Brian Seales.	Aerva javanica. Small grey hairy shrub, a member of the Amaranthus family. Photo by Brian Seales.	Cassia italica. A pretty little shrub in the desert which has much larger relations in the tropics Photo by Brian Seales.
Atractylis aristata. A member of the Aster family. I suppose it is a desert thistle really. Photo: Brian Seales	Asteriscus graveolens. Another species closely related to this plant is Astericus maritimus which is grown as a summer bedding plant in Europe. Photo: Brian Seales	Fagonia tenuifolia. A very pretty small plant found growing in a wadi. Photo: Brian Seales.
Chrysanthemum macrocarpum. Every country has its daisy and this is Libya's. Photo: Chris O'Byrne	Fagonia arabica. Another member of this family which has adapted to desert life. Photo: Brian Seales	Trichodesma africanum. I think this is what this plant is. Any ideas anyone? Photo: Brian Seales
Erodium glaucophyllum. A member of the geranium/pelargonium family. A very nice plant for a hot dry spot in the garden perhaps. Photo: Brian Seales	Calotropis procera. Now this was a surprise. A large shrub with fleshy leaves. Photographed in the Acacus it was one of the largest plants we saw there. Also seen in some of the wadi's. Photo Jim Lynch	Citrullus colocynthis. The flower should give this plant away. It's a member of the cucumber family. We called them desert melons. Photo: Jim Lynch
Citrullus colocynthis. You can see why we called them desert melons. Photo: Chris O'Byrne	Citrullus colocynthis. We cut one open to see what it was like inside. Someone took a bite from one and said it was very bitter. Goats eat them apparently, but then what do goats not eat! Photo: Brian Seales	Citrullus colocynthis. There was a sea of desert melons at one point. Photo: Jim Lynch
Citrullus colocynthis. This was the very first desert melon we saw and caused great excitement after seeing no vegetation for days. Photo: Brian Seales	A nice contrast. Ancient carved flowers with new ones complementing them. Photo: Sinead Cawley	Growing in a crevice this plant is perfectly adapted. Photo taken at Leptis Magna. Photo: Sinead Cawley
Agama impalearis A lizard in the Acacus. Photo: Chris O'Byrne	Agama agama. Again taken in the Acacus this lizard had a magnificent orange coloured head which does not show too well in this photo Photo: Brian Seales	The desert records everthing that happens. Here you can see where a lizard caught his prey Photo: Brian Seales
A female Desert Wheatear. Photo taken during one of our lunch stops. Photo: Dave Seales	The tough little Desert Sparrow. Closely related to our own House Sparrow Photo: Dave Seales	Locally called the moula-moula bird, these friendly White Cowned Wheatears appear at every camp site within minutes of setting up. What do they do before we arrive? Photo: Dave Seales
A Night Heron photographed at Leptis Magna. Photo: Dave Seales	This little Turtle Dove rested beside our camp site in the Acacus. They are very common along the coast. Photo: Brian Seales	Marsh Harrier. This wonderful bird of prey was hunting over the "crop circles". Photo: Jim Lynch
Feeding on a Calotropis this locust has fantastic colours. Photo: Brian Seales	Probably the largest beetle any of us saw in the desert. Unusual to see him out in the open during the heat of the day. Photo: Jim Lynch	An adult and young camel had just passed by leaving these extraordinary prints behind. Totally adapted to life in the desert their feet spread out to form a flat platform which gives better stability in the sand. Photo: Brian Seales
We met these in the Acacus. The tourists walk and the camels carry all the gear. They are the faster "white" camels which the Tuareg prefer to use. Photo: Chris O'Byrne	A great view of the wooden saddles commonly used. Photo: Chris O'Byrne	The young camel on the right had been born very recently. They can walk within a few hours of birth and are very graceful for such beginners. Photo: Chris O'Byrne
These guys wouldnot drink any water from the well but instead patiently waited for mum to finish topping up before going after her milk. Photo: Brian Seales	Goats in the Acacus. Apart from using their skins to store drinking water we also had goat stew on a few occasions. Photo: Jim Lynch	This is a Tripolitanian cat. You know what I mean. Photo: Sinead Cawley
The marking on the face of this camel is an owners brand. Photo: Jim Lynch	Each camel had quite a distinctive face. Photo: Jim Lynch	What an expression! Photo: Jim Lynch
	What can I say? Photo: Jim Lynch

back to main page