A video of a dog perched atop an Egyptian pyramid in Giza went viral last week, captivating tens of millions of social media users who were both amused and confused. People were curious about how the dog ended up there and its purpose for being on the pyramid.
Ibrahim Elbendary, co-founder of the American Cairo Animal Rescue Foundation, recognised the dog as Apollo. He is part of a pack of eight dogs that live on the upper sections of the Pyramid of Khafre. Apollo, along with his siblings and their pack mother, known locally as Laika, named after the dog sent into space in the 1950s, are part of the many stray dogs at the pyramid complex. Animal welfare organisations care for them but they face significant challenges due to the overwhelming number of strays in need.
Dog pyramid Egypt
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Most of the stray dogs in the pyramid complex, located just outside Cairo, stay closer to the ground. However, Laika managed to reach the top of the pyramid, which Elbendary believes may have seemed like a safer place for her to give birth. “She is very smart,” he told The Washington Post, noting that she and her puppies have made the pyramid their home.
Elbendary described it as “the most shocking thing” to witness them hunting birds at the top of the Pyramid of Khafre, the second tallest of the three main pyramids in Giza. The dogs stealthily approach crows and leap to catch them, hundreds of metres above the ground, on the rough stone surface. Apollo, approximately three years old, was seen barking at birds in footage captured on October 14 by a paraglider.
The rescue organisation tends to street dogs and other animals living in the renowned 4,500-year-old pyramid complex and surrounding areas. However, their efforts are only “a drop in the bucket,” according to co-founder Vicki Brown. They provide the dogs with food, water, and medical attention as well as facilitating adoptions to the United States. The group also traps, vaccinates and spays or neuters strays before releasing them. Despite their attempts, Elbendary noted that Apollo “runs directly to the top of the pyramid when we try” to capture him, and so far, he has successfully evaded them.
