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Iran Safari
Persian fallow deer
mentioned in the Bible: Theoretically, such animals could also be used for ritual
sacrifice, but it seems that in actual fact they were rarely, if
ever, used for sacrificial purposes. The Persian fallow deer is also
specifically mentioned in the Bible as one of the delicacies served
at King Solomon's royal table (I Kings 5:3). Unfortunately, the
prosperity of the fallow deer came to an abrupt halt with the
introduction of firearms into the region in the early twentieth
century. The animals were hunted by the thousands, and by the end of
the First World War the species was completely wiped out in the Land
of Israel.
It was thought at the time that the entire species (or
subspecies, depending on which taxonomic listing is used) had become
extinct throughout its geographical range. The Persian fallow deer is listed in the Book of
Deuteronomy(14:5) among the seven species of non domesticated
ungulates (hoofed animals) that the Children of Israel were
permitted to eat. In plain modern language, this meant that these
deer were kosher. In 1955 the Baron von
manufacturer, who also happened to be an amateur zoologist)
discovered a small herd of Persian fallow deer taking refuge in the
vicinity of the Dez River in western Iran. Von Opel acquired a
number of deer for the Opel Park Zoo in Kronberg, Germany, and began
breeding the animals. In the wake of the baron's sensational
discovery, the relevant authorities in Israel began making
determined efforts to acquire a number of Persian fallow deer. The
cherished goal was to breed the deer and eventually return them to
the wild in their historical homeland, in the forests of Western
Galilee.
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In essence, this was the idea behind the establishment of Israel's
Hai Bar wildlife preserves. The two original Hai Bar preserves (one
in the southern Aravah Valley north of Eilat, and the other in the
forests of Mt. Carmel just south of Haifa)were set up for the
purpose of restoring Israel's native fauna, particularly those
species that had become extinct locally.
A pair of Persian fallow deer from Iran finally landed in Israel in
the late 1960s. These two were later joined by a number of deer from
Kronberg. Finally, it seemed, the dream of bringing the Persian
fallow deer back to the forests of the Land of Israel was beginning
to come true. At first, the deer showed signs of multiplying quite
successfully in their new home in the Tel Aviv Zoo. However, serious
problems soon arose, and it became clear before long that the herd
could not survive without the addition of new animals. The personnel
of Israel's Nature Reserves Authority were urgently pressed into
action. Fortunately, they could make use of some very good
international connections in order to bolster the tiny local
population with the acquisition of additional deer. Surprisingly
enough, reinforcements came from Iran, of all places, just at the
time when that country was caught up in the heat of the
fundamentalist Islamic revolution of December 1978. The herd was
transferred from the Tel Aviv Zoo to the Hai .Bar preserve on Mt.
Carmel, where they flourished and multiplied.
The worldwide population of Persian fallow deer today numbers a
little over 400 individuals. More than half of these animals reside
in Israel, in the HaiBar of Mt. Carmel, in the Jerusalem Biblical
Zoo, and a number of other locations (see below).
The size of the population is still dangerously small, and the
animal easily qualifies to be listed as an endangered species. In
fact, this deer is considered to be one of the rarest mammalian
species (or subspecies) in the world.In 1996, the ambitious goal of
returning the Persian fallow deer to the wild in Israel began to be
fulfilled, with the release of the first animals. In the years since
then, a relatively large number of individuals has been set free in
the forests of Nahal Kziv in northwestern Galilee. Just under one
hundred deer are already foraging in the area, and there have even
been several eyewitness accounts of successful births. The Jerusalem
Biblical Zoo is proud to be a principal partner in this
reintroduction project. Our role is to maintain a core herd of
breeding animals. This breeding herd serves as a reserve population,
and as a potential back-up for the wild herd. It also provides a
fresh source of offspring which may eventually be released and
united with the wild herd.
So on your next visit to our zoo, or if you happen to be hiking in
the area of Nahal Kziv, look out for our Persian fallow deer, and
try to remember the profound drama that is the story of the deer's
return to their historical homeland in the Land of Israel.
The Persian Fallow Deer (Dama mesopotamica) is a ruminant mammal
belonging to the family Cervidae. It is treated here as its own
species, but it is also often described as a subspecies of Fallow
Deer and named Dama dama mesopotamica.
Diet: Grasses, leaves.
Main Predators: Leopard, bearded vulture, eagle.
Status The Nubian ibex is classified as endangered by the IUCN
(1996), with an estimated population of 1200 animals in 1986.
Habitat Rocky, desert mountains with steep slopes in northeastern
Africa and parts of Arabia Hare: Absent from the mountains but
otherwise widespread in the United Arab Emirates is the hare (Lepus
capensis ). Adapted to the harsh environment, the local hare is much
smaller than its European counterpart and is therefore often
mistaken for a rabbit, which does not occur in Arabia. Unlike the
rabbit, the hare does not live in burrows, but spends the day
motionless, with its ears folded back, relying totally on its
camouflage, remaining in shallow scrapes under a bush or even in the
open. The young hares, or leverets, are born fully furred with their
eyes open and are able to survive without their mother from the
seventh to the tenth day of their lives. The baby hares are left by
the mother in separate locations, where she visits them a couple of
times a night to let them suckle. The advantage of this system is,
that if one young is found by a fox or another predator, only that
individual will be killed and not the whole litter. Should the
mother vanish, then the babies, as mentioned earlier, are able to
fend for themselves from a very early age. As with the other mammals
that have adapted to the desert life, the hare does not need to
drink water, obtaining enough moisture from the grasses and shrubs
it eats.
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