Stray dog spotted by a paragliding tourist on top of Giza's Great Pyramid becomes an online sensation

The dog, now named Boka, was again caught on camera climbing down the Pyramid

A paraglider spotted a dog on top of Giza's Great Pyramid. Photo: Alex Lang

A stray dog spotted by a paragliding tourist on top of Giza's Great Pyramid has become an online sensation, with many likening the canine's features to the ancient Egyptian God Anubis.

The cream dog with light brown spots – named "Boka" by social media users – climbed the pyramid of Khufu late last week. The video, taken by a tourist flying over the Giza Pyramids in a motorised paraglider, surfaced online over the weekend and became an instant hit, with millions of views.

Some social media users said the video was the best, free publicity for Egypt. Others speculated on what motivated the dog to climb the nearly 150-metre-high structure built around 2,500BC.

Witnesses quoted in local media reports said he was chasing birds and kept barking at them when he reached the top. The video taken by the tourist, Alex Lang showed Boka happily moving around on the peak of the pyramid.

Others said the dog's impressive climb to the top may have been related to the mysteries surrounding ancient Egyptian burial places. Anubis, which Boka was compared to, is a jackal-headed dog that ancient Egyptians believed was the God of funerary rites and protector of graves.

“Maybe something inspired or persuaded him to go up there,” said Gamal Saleh, a canine expert and a former commander of the military's war dogs. “Maybe it's one of those pharaonic mysteries!”

Painted relief of Sethos before Anubis (jackal headed god) at the Temple of Sethos I, Abydos, Egypt, 19th Dynasty, c1280 BC. Getty Images

Boka was also filmed as he climbed down the Khufu pyramid, with tourists on the ground gasping at the dog's extraordinary speed and agility.

“He made so much publicity for Egyptian monuments that's bigger than anything we could have planned,” said Amr Adeeb, a well-known Arab TV talk show host. “He came down the pyramid with so much ease it looked like he was walking through a field of clover. It's like he knew exactly what he was doing,” he said on the Saudi-owned network MBC Egypt.

Boka has been the subject of online humour, too.

One Facebook post showed him Photoshopped sitting in the guest's studio chair while being interviewed by Mona El Shazly, another famous TV talk show host. Other posts commented on the reported offer from a wealthy American to buy Boka for $100,000.

“I am hoping and praying that you spend your life here next to the Pyramids and never go if you get adoption offers outside Egypt,” wrote one Facebook user.

Egypt has long outlawed climbing any of its ancient pyramids, but in 2020 toughened the penalty for offenders who now face either a month in jail or a 200,000-pound fine (about $4,000).