Following the Iron Swords War, fewer people went out into the wild – which meant that many animals could be seen wandering around without fear in national parks and nature reserves.
According to Amos Sabah, ecologist of the Judea and Samaria district of the Nature and Parks Authority, the wild animals we sometimes encounter in the human environment were probably there before us. "Development and infrastructure for which humans are responsible have pushed wildlife to the margins, into what remains open space. Nature reserves are those natural 'islands' where they are found and feel free," he said.
Golden jackal at Tel Ashkelon National Park, photo: Meir Geva
Sabah said most wild animals avoid human presence and feel reluctant to do so. An example of this can be found in the Israeli deer, which is strongly identified with the landscapes of the Land of Israel, and which prefers to be far from people. Deer quickly learn where there is danger from hunting and where it is safer, so that in places where there is a hunter, it immediately appears that the deer is in a hurry to escape. The deer, whose hours of operation are flexible (day and night), chooses places where it is afraid of a person walking around at night.
In these days of security tension, which led to the closure of Nature and Parks Authority sites to visitors, deer can be seen during the daytime without fear. Thus, you can see herds of gazelles wandering around Herodium Park for pleasure and without fear, as well as in Tel Ashkelon National Park, where the animals took advantage of the fact that there are no visitors these days – and went out to wander around the place.
Zvi at Herodion National Park, photo: Eviatar Cohen - Israel Nature and Parks Authority
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