Libyan Flora and Fauna

Water if available can completely transform the desert. The Great Man Made River has achieved this turning some areas of desert into rich farmland. Widely grown crops include alfalfa for animal feed and wheat for flour. Many other vegetable and fruits can be grown on the irrigated farms. In more arid areas only dates and olives survive.

Well-managed farms will have most of the animals found in more temperate regions plus the highly treasured camel. Indeed camel milk replaces cow milk to a large extend in the desert areas.

In desert areas few species thrive naturally, palms are only found if groundwater is not too deep, otherwise only the acacia tree is found in the dry deserts areas, generally along wadi floors.

There are few wild animals that can survive in the deserts. It is common to see jackal and fennec tracks in the sand as well as mouse and the more widely spaced jumping mouse tracks.

A wide variety of birds might be seen, but some are just in transit. Black crows are common and in the desert the black and white mula-mula is a friendly and frequent visitor to campsites. Falcons may be seen in more vegetated areas.