The Egyptian tortoise is protected by law in Egypt but not in Libya. Additionally, the tortoise is listed under Appendix I of CITES, prohibiting international trade in the species. However, these protective laws are evidently often flouted. Protected areas exist in Egypt, including the one in which the two individuals were found in 2001, but there is little benefit of this protection, or indeed motivation to establish new protected areas for the species, since it is effectively extinct in Egypt. This tortoise may also occur in Kouf National Park in northeast Libya, where one specimen was found 20 years ago, but no other reserves exist in the species’ known range. The establishment of more protected areas in Libya would be of enormous benefit to the Egyptian tortoise and greatly enhance its chances of survival. Although tracts of suitable habitat still remain in Libya, there is an all too realistic possibility that the Egyptian tortoise could face extinction in less than 20 years if habitat degradation and trade cannot be stopped (1).