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Cairo International Book Fair to Hit Record Number of Visitors

Visitors at the Cairo International Book Fair. (Photo: the official page of the Cairo Book Fair on Facebook)
Visitors at the Cairo International Book Fair. (Photo: the official page of the Cairo Book Fair on Facebook)
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Cairo International Book Fair to Hit Record Number of Visitors

Visitors at the Cairo International Book Fair. (Photo: the official page of the Cairo Book Fair on Facebook)
Visitors at the Cairo International Book Fair. (Photo: the official page of the Cairo Book Fair on Facebook)

The 55th edition of the Cairo International Book Fair is expected to hit a record number of visitors this year. Held at the Egypt International Exhibition Center, from January 25 to February 6, the event lured over 1.2 million visitors by Sunday.

Themed "We Create Knowledge, We Preserve the Word", the fair has hosted 1,200 publishers from 70 countries, and welcomed over one million visitors within its first days, a record compared to the previous years, according to a statement by the Egyptian Culture Ministry.

“The number of visitors reached 404,931 on the third day,” said Nevine el-Kilani, minister of Culture, noting in a statement that “this large audience indicates that this edition is exceptional and remarkable in the fair’s history.”

Dr. Ahmed Bahi El-Din, head of the General Egyptian Book Authority, stated that “the attendees of the fair were 404,931 within the three first days, and increased to 1,009,983 so far,” noting that “the visitors have taken part in many of the cultural and artistic activities included in the fair’s program.” On the fourth day, the Cairo International Book Fair hosted 254,190 visitors, according to a statement by the ministry of culture.

The past edition of the fair (2023) welcomed 3,609,395 visitors within 14 days.

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Cute carnivores: Bloodthirsty California Squirrels Go Nuts for Vole Meat

This handout photo obtained from the University of California on December 18, 2024, shows ground squirrels eating voles in Davis, California. Sonja Wild / University of California, Davis/AFP
This handout photo obtained from the University of California on December 18, 2024, shows ground squirrels eating voles in Davis, California. Sonja Wild / University of California, Davis/AFP
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Cute carnivores: Bloodthirsty California Squirrels Go Nuts for Vole Meat

This handout photo obtained from the University of California on December 18, 2024, shows ground squirrels eating voles in Davis, California. Sonja Wild / University of California, Davis/AFP
This handout photo obtained from the University of California on December 18, 2024, shows ground squirrels eating voles in Davis, California. Sonja Wild / University of California, Davis/AFP

Squirrels might look like adorable, nut-hoarding furballs, but some are ruthless predators that hunt, tear apart, and devour voles.
That's the startling finding of a new study published Wednesday in the Journal of Ethology -- the first to document widespread carnivorous behavior in these seemingly innocent creatures.
"There is always something new to learn and wild animals continue to surprise us," lead author Jennifer E. Smith, an associate professor of biology at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire told AFP.
"In a changing world with many technological advances, there is no replacement for direct observation of natural history, including watching the squirrels and birds that often visit our backyards."
The observations were made this summer, during the 12th year of a long-term study conducted at Briones Regional Park in Contra Costa County, California.
Between June and July, researchers recorded 74 interactions involving California ground squirrels and voles, with 42 percent of them involving active hunting of their fellow rodents.
Co-author Sonja Wild, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Davis, admitted she was initially skeptical of the reports brought to her by undergraduate students who first witnessed the behavior.
"I could barely believe my eyes," said Wild. But "once we started looking, we saw it everywhere."
It was previously known that as many as 30 species of squirrels opportunistically consume meat, ranging from small fish to birds. However, it was unclear whether this behavior stemmed from scavenging or active predation.
The new study is the first to confirm that hunting is, in fact, a common behavior.
Researchers observed squirrels crouching low to the ground before ambushing their prey, though more often, they chased voles, pounced, and delivered a neck bite followed by vigorous shaking.
The study also found that the squirrels' carnivorous behavior peaked during the first two weeks of July, coinciding with a surge in vole populations reported by citizen scientists on the iNaturalist app.
Other animals, such as raccoons, coyotes, and spotted hyenas, have been known to adapt their hunting strategies in response to human-induced changes in their environments.
"In a changing world, it can be daunting to consider all of the challenges that human presence, habitat loss, and climate change impose on animals," said Smith.
"Our study offers an exciting silver lining, demonstrating the incredible flexibility that some animals possess."
Several questions still remain unanswered.
Researchers hope to investigate how widespread hunting behavior is among squirrel species, whether it is passed down from parents to pups, and how it affects their broader ecosystems.