A video by paramotorist Marshall Mosher went viral earlier this month as it showed a dog on top of Egypt’s Giza pyramid. It left people online wondering how the dog managed to scale the 480ft-pyramid and whether it got down safely.
Alex Lang, another paraglider who filmed the dog, said while he was shocked at first, he felt the dog seemed like “the king of the pyramid” and comfortable with the climb up and down.
“Maybe he was trying to scare the birds away so he could enjoy the view to himself,” Lang, 27, told The Washington Post.
Mr Mosher said he was concerned that the dog had got itself stuck on the pyramid of Khafre but saw no sign of it when he flew over the ancient structure the next day.
“If he got himself up, he can get himself down unless he found some secret portal that helped him teleport to the top of the pyramids,” he told CNN.
The dog did indeed get itself down.
It is fine and cared for by the American Cairo Animal Rescue Foundation.
Ibrahim Elbendary, co-founder of the organisation, recognised the dog from the video as three-year-old Apollo, one of eight dogs in a pack that lives on the upper reaches of the pyramid he was spotted on, reported The Washington Post.
Many strays live at the pyramid complex, but Apollo’s mother Laika climbed towards the top of the structure as she likely felt safer there, said Mr Elbendary.
Apollo and its siblings now live there, climbing to the top regularly to hunt birds.
The video that went viral on 14 October showed Apollo barking at birds. Another showed it climbing down the pyramid the next day, unperturbed by the concern of hundreds of people on social media.
Vicki Brown, co-founder of the American Cairo Animal Rescue Foundation, said their organisation looks after the animals that live in the 4,500-year-old pyramid complex and elsewhere, providing them with food, water, medical care and assisting with adoptions.
Both Ms Brown and Mr Elbendary hope that Apollo’s video being shared so widely brings in some awareness of the dire situation of the animals that live there and encourage residents and authorities to begin looking after them.
“The stray dog situation here is a huge challenge,” Mr Mosher wrote on Instagram. “While the world is so in love with our famous pyramid dog, I’d love to help these friendly pups to get the love they deserve.”
