The "Nature Picture" exhibition at the Eretz Israel Museum in Tel Aviv provides a closer look at the variety of animals in the country in their natural environment - from the Yarkon Park to the Judean Desert and the Gulf of Eilat
Common wilderness
Photo:
Hillel Shmuel
The exhibition "Nature Picture", which is currently on display at the Eretz Israel Museum in Tel Aviv, invites visitors to a close encounter with nature in Israel and reveals a tap from the inner world of 65 photographers, drawn to the beauty and tranquility of nature.
The photographers go on field adventures in search of inspiration, but also seek to raise awareness of the disappearing world and human impact on nature, hoping to lead to change and warn against the loss of living environments in the country's unique fabric of life.
Alongside the "Nature Picture", which will close this June, is the international photography exhibition "Wildlife Photographer of the Year", which documents a variety of species of animals and plants from around the world in their natural environment and introduces viewers to distant, sometimes strange creatures.
Pink time
The Chinese rose is a rather rare bird in Israel, which can be seen mainly in the Eilat area.
The photographer took advantage of the fact that in Eilat the roses learned to drink water offered to them by visitors, placed his camera near the water source - and in November 2018, with the help of a remote control, photographed the colorful male flying in the air and the female in camouflage standing on a rock.
The pink colors of the male, which are very prominent in the picture, are what gave the species its name.
Photo: Gal Sharblis
Mom's apron
A golden jackal female breastfeeds her cubs in the morning of June 2017, in Hayarkon Park.
The photographer, who lives nearby, has in recent years devoted her time to urban nature photography in the area and focuses on pavilions in Hayarkon Park.
In the summer comes a new generation of jackals, innocent and curious, who teach a lesson about their family life, their dedication, loyalty and cooperation between them.
Photo: Irit Drov
Strong from the wind
The origin of the name Hayiva, one of the most common day trout in Israel, is from the Aramaic word Hayaya, which means snake - since snakes are its main food.
The viper crushes the snake with its feet, kills it with a blow of the beak and swallows it whole.
The indicator in the photo was taken in March 2019 on the top of a pine tree on the Wind Mountain, near the settlement of Nataf in the Jerusalem mountains, as part of a follow-up of a pair of indicators that arrive in the area every year.
Photo: Effi Cohen
The bat's wife
The fruit bat, as its name implies, feeds mainly on ripe fruit which it bites with its sharp teeth - then squeezes out the sugar-rich juice and energy from them.
It spits out the peel, most of the fruit and seeds, to save weight.
The spitting, along with the bat feces, often stains the walls of buildings and cars in the city.
The bat in the photo was taken in November 2019, during the day, flying between the fruit trees in the area and the ornamental pool at the entrance plaza to the building in Tel Aviv.
Photo: Yuval Barkai
salt of the earth
This salt crystalline hall, hidden about 70 meters underground at the end of a cave hundreds of meters long in a cave in the south of Mount Sodom, was discovered by the photographer in December 2019, as part of the activities of the Cave Research Center.
About 200 caves are known on Mount Sodom, but only a few of them have salt crystals.
To photograph the hall from an angle that would illustrate the phenomenon in the most impressive way, the photographer climbed to a high rock shelf.
The man in the picture is Rick Stanton, a British cave diver who participated in rescuing the boys from the cave in Thailand in the summer of 2018.
Photo: Boaz Langford
Petal
The moth is active at night, and during the day it rests, usually completely camouflaged.
The photo, taken in June 2015 in a public garden in Givatayim, manages to emphasize the unique textures of the moth and leaf - with the help of backlighting.
Photo: Amit Cohen
Bamba's dolphin
In December 2019, one of the dolphins of the dolphin reef in Eilat was observed while swimming in the morning, with a bag of bamba wrapped around its fin.
The photographer followed the dolphin, which was playing with the bag, threw and caught it again and again.
The dolphin may enjoy the game, but many marine animals, in Israel and around the world, are affected by the marine debris that grows over time.
Photo: Oren Cohen
Head to Head
The viper snake usually swallows its prey when its head first, however in this case, taken in Herzliya Park in April 2018, the viper swallowed the gecko from the middle of its body, when it is folded, so you can see its head and tail peeking out of its mouth.
The viper is the largest and most common of the venomous snakes in Israel.
His venomous teeth are very large, and his venom glands are developed so that he can inject a large amount of venom in one blow.
This fact, combined with its high prevalence near human settlements, makes it responsible for most of the beatings in the country.
Photo: Oren Oster
Caught color
The common salamander is one of the seven amphibian species living in Israel, and the population of salamanders in Carmel, where the picture was taken in November 2017, is the southernmost in the world of this species.
The salamander's prominent colors are probably warning colors, as adult salamanders in distress secrete venom from glands in their skin.
The salamander's skin is constantly moist, allowing it to absorb oxygen through it.
It is possible that the bee in the picture was attracted to the moist skin.
Photo: Ido Falah
water World
A red-muzzle prick from the Tamar reef in Eilat in June 2017, surrounded by a huge flock of ax fish, known as "glass fish", which maintain a safe distance from it and move in sync around it.
The artificial reef Tamar was established a little over ten years ago.
It is seven meters deep and is home to many species of animals.
Photo: Yitzhak Yogev
Garbage Gate
Many efforts are made to prevent wildlife from entering the Nimra site, to which waste from Eilat and the surrounding area is transported - but without success.
The Novi goat in the photo was photographed on the site in May 2019, during a goat count survey in which the photographer participated as part of his role as an inspector at the Nature and Parks Authority.
Photo: Omri Yosef Omasi
My eyes
This photographer, who lives in the Sands Park in Ashdod, managed to approach the photographer in August 2019, up to a distance of 15 centimeters - without escaping.
The common wilderness is a small gecko that inhabits soil, feeding on insects and other arthropods.
It is active mainly at night, and during the day hides dug in the sand or under stones.
Photo: Hillel Shmuel