The Egyptians had a peculiarly close relationship with animals as every visitor to Egypt who is captivated by the paintings and reliefs of the flora and fauna becomes aware. Animals seem to penetrate into every aspect of their daily lives and religious beliefs; both as wild animals for hunting and domestic animals for food and companionship. This encyclopedic and authoritative book focuses on the mammals depicted by the Egyptians and the many roles they played: as gods, magical beings, medicine, food, for sport or simply as pets. Summaries are given of the present and past distributions of each species and there are extensive notes on their natural history.