Jerusalem Biblical Zoo
Jerusalem Biblical Zoo | |
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artificial lake at the zoo. | |
31°44′58″N 35°10′37″E / 31.74944°N 35.17694°E | |
Date opened | 1940 |
Location | Malha, Jerusalem, Israel |
Land area | 62-acre (25 ha)[1] |
No. of animals | 2,200 (as of 2009)[2] |
No. of species | 271 (as of 2009)[2] |
Memberships | WAZA,[3] EAZA,[4] IZA,[5] Species360[6] |
Website | www |
Part of a series on |
Jerusalem |
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The Tisch Family Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem (
History
Downtown Jerusalem (1940–1947)
The Jerusalem Biblical Zoo opened in September 1940 as a small "animal corner" on Rabbi Kook Street in central Jerusalem.[9][10] The zoo was founded by Aharon Shulov, a professor of zoology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mount Scopus. Among Shulov's goals were to provide a research facility for his students; to gather animals, reptiles and birds mentioned in the Bible;[10][11] and, as he wrote in 1951, to break down the "invisible wall" between the intellectuals on Mount Scopus and the general public.[12] The first animal in the Jerusalem Zoo was a desert monitor which arrived in 1940, brought by a group of British soldiers.[13]
Early on, the zoo ran into several difficulties in its decision to focus on animals mentioned in the Bible. For one, the meaning of many names of animals, reptiles and birds in Scriptures is often uncertain; for example, nesher (Hebrew: נשר), commonly translated as "eagle", could also mean "vulture".[9] More significantly, many of the animals mentioned in the Bible are now extinct in Israel due to over-hunting, destruction of natural habitats by rapid construction and development, illegal poisoning by farmers, and low birth rate.[14] Zoo planners decided to branch beyond strictly biblical animals and include worldwide endangered species as well.[9]
The presence of the animal corner generated many complaints from residents in adjoining buildings due to the smell and noise, as well as the perceived danger of animal escapes. Due to the complaints, the zoo relocated in 1941 to a 4.5-dunam (0.0045 km2; 0.0017 sq mi) lot on Shmuel HaNavi Street. Here, too, complaints were heard from the neighbors, but the zoo remained at this site for the next six years.[9]
Mount Scopus (1947–1950)
In 1947 the zoo, which by now had 122 animals,
Romema (1950–1991)
As part of the Israel–Jordan Armistice Agreements of 1949, access to Mount Scopus was restricted. The United Nations helped the zoo relocate[9] to a 15-hectare (37-acre) lot[15] in Givat Komuna, adjacent to the present-day neighborhoods of Romema and Ezrat Torah. According to Shulov, when the zoo arrived in Romema, only two wolves, one hyena, one lion and one leopard were left.[9][16]
The zoo remained in Romema from 1950 to 1991, becoming a beloved Jerusalem institution. About 30 percent of its attendance came from
The zoo was administered by a
Jerusalem mayor
Malha (1993–present)
The zoo closed its site in Romema in 1991 and reopened in the Malha valley, 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) southwest of the city center,[17] in 1993.[9]
The zoo today
The zoo, renamed the Tisch Family Zoological Gardens in Jerusalem, but still called the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo by the general public, opened for a preview period on 28 February 1993. It officially opened on 9 September 1993.[20]
Design and layout
Designed by Miller-Blum & Associates Landscape Architects, and constructed by the
The zoo is built on two main levels. A motorized train takes visitors on a circular route from the lower level to the upper level. The entire park is
The centerpiece of the lower level is an
At the western end of the park stands a two-story, boat-shaped wooden visitor's center meant to resemble Noah's Ark. It contains an auditorium, an art gallery, a gift shop, a snack bar, and computer stations providing information on animals mentioned in the Bible.[23]
The zoo operates several snack bars and a coffee shop. Picnic tables and benches are situated throughout the park. There is also an animal-themed jungle gym for children and a sculpture garden containing 23
Animal exhibits
The traditional zoo infrastructure of bars and cages has been replaced by open areas separated from the public by trenches,
.Animals and birds reside in natural habitats, from an African savannah to a tropical rain forest to the underground world of mice and cockroaches. The
Behind the scenes, the zoo operates an animal medical center with surgery, recovery and treatment rooms, a laboratory, and a quarantine unit where incoming animals and zoo animals being sent to other zoos are tested for diseases. This medical center cares for all zoo animals except the elephants, giraffes, rhinoceroses, hippopotamus, and bison, which are treated in their own exhibits.[29]
The parking lot accommodates 500 vehicles.[17] The city named the street astride the zoo Derech Aharon Shulov (Aharon Shulov Way) after the zoo's founder.[30]
Animal species
As of 2009, the zoo housed 2,200 animals representing 271 different species: 60 fish species, 68 mammal species, 28 reptile species, 11 amphibian species, and 104 bird species. Many species were introduced only in the last few years, as the collection numbered 208 species in 2007.[2]
Food sources
The massive amount of fruits and vegetables consumed daily by the zoo's animals are acquired free of charge through an agreement Shulov worked out with Israeli companies that
During Passover, the entire zoo is chametz-free.[35] Four to six weeks before the holiday, the animal feed pellets are switched from wheat-based to rice-based ingredients, and after Passover they are gradually switched back to wheat-based.[36]
Themes and focus
Wildlife conservation
The zoo sees its primary goal as the conservation of
Towards that end, the zoo undertakes to breed animals in captivity and, in some cases, reintroduce them to the wild. Through this program, the zoo has successfully increased the number of Persian fallow deer in Israel. This species was thought to be extinct in the 20th century until a small number of deer were located in Iran in 1956. In 1978, four of these deer were brought to Israel and have since increased to several hundred, with a major breeding colony at the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo.[39] A concurrent project to protect the Negev tortoise from extinction involves breeding from artificially-incubated eggs.[40]
There is a captive breeding programme for the blind cave shrimp Typhlocaris galilea.[41][42]
At the zoo's National Center for Artificial Incubation of Raptor Eggs, eggs of
The zoo conducts a small ceremony each time it returns a bird to the wild. In 1996, for the release of a griffon vulture which it named "Freedom", the zoo invited the mother of captured
The zoo is considered a world leader and educator in reproductive intervention.[47] It achieved a major success in December 2005 with the birth of Gabi, the first elephant conceived in Israel through artificial insemination.[48] In conjunction with a team from the Reproduction Management Institute for Zoo Biology and Wildlife Research of Berlin, zoo veterinarians impregnated one of their female elephants, Tamar, with sperm obtained from Emmett, a bull elephant in the Whipsnade Animal Park, Bedfordshire, England.[47] On 10 December 2005, Gabi's six-hour birth was viewed by over 350,000 people in 108 countries via live streaming on the zoo's website.[1]
The zoo has also pioneered the use of animal birth control. It was the first to use a
Newborn animals that are threatened or ignored by their parents are raised by the veterinary staff. On 31 December 2008, for example, a newborn tiger cub ignored by its mother was taken home by a staff member to be bottle-fed.[49][50] A newborn leopard rejected by its mother spent its days at the zoo and nights at veterinarians' homes for its first three and a half months of life.[36][51]
The zoo also provides medical treatment for animals and birds injured in the wild.
Public education
Public education is another prime focus of the zoo. According to Shai Doron, director-general of the zoo since 1993,[53] "Our moral right to exist comes from educating and raising the awareness of our visitors."[1]
Many Israelis, both Jewish and Arab, are not familiar with zoos and get "overexcited" at seeing the animals on display.[10] Dozens of zoo personnel man the displays during peak holiday times to stop visitors from throwing food and other items at the animals. The animals do have a preference for Bamba, the popular children's peanut-and-corn snack (though it gives the monkeys diarrhea); other common projectiles include bottles, plastic bags, and children's shoes.[54] In 1997 a toco toucan was found dead in its cage next to pieces of avocado, a known bird toxin.[54] In 2006 a hippopotamus died after swallowing a tennis ball tossed into its enclosure.[55] Over the past decade and a half, the zoo staff claims that public awareness has improved.[54]
Through visiting school groups, after-school groups, special-education groups and summer camps, children learn about and interact with the animals.[17] Educational activities for children, including the zoo's own youth movement, promote interracial encounters between Arab and Jewish youth.[56] The zoo also mounts a traveling workshop called the Zoomobile, which brings small animals in cages and a sound system carrying the sounds of larger animals to schools, hospitals, and other locations.[57]
Environmental awareness
The zoo teaches environmentalism both in its exhibits and by personal example. Since 1997[58] it has featured an "ecological maze"[25] – a short path meandering through high bushes with signs that highlight ecological challenges in Israel. In spring 2010 it unveiled a $1.5 million aquatic exhibit called "Wet Side Story"[59] which stresses the importance of water conservation, ecology awareness, and water challenges in the Middle East and around the world.[8] This exhibit displays rare and endangered marine life[59] in 17 large aquariums and three huge water tanks measuring 2 × 4 metres (7 × 14 ft). There is also an outdoor "petting pool" where visitors can touch and feed koi.[60]
In keeping with its "green" policy, the zoo maintains its own
Research
The Jerusalem Biblical Zoo participates in national and international research projects in the fields of zoology, biology, and environmental science, and publishes papers in journals and at scientific meetings.[61][62][63][64][65] Through its Aharon Shulov Fund for the Study of Animals in Captivity, it also provides grants for research on animal welfare and husbandry, animal reintroduction, reproduction of endangered species, conservation genetics, and exotic animal nutrition and medical care.[66] The Fund is sponsored by Shulov's family, the Friends of the Zoo Association, and the Jerusalem Zoo.[67]
The zoo hosts academic seminars and student research at the Gabi Center, located in a 21-square-foot (2.0 m2) facility inside the main entrance. The center was named in memory of Dr. Gabi Eshkar, deputy director-general and chief veterinarian of the zoo for over 17 years, who was killed in an automobile accident in 2004.[68]
Affiliations
The Jerusalem Biblical Zoo is a full member of the
Members of the veterinary staff belong to the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians, the European Association of Zoo and Wildlife Veterinarians, and the European Group on Zoo Animal Contraception.[71]
Visitors and volunteers
A record 738,000 people visited the zoo in 2009.[2] The zoo does a brisk business in tourist groups, school groups, and summer camps: over 120,000 visitors arrived in groups in 2009. Included in the total are 63 groups of special-needs children, both Jewish and Arab,[52] who participate in weekly sessions of animal-assisted therapy.[8] Total capacity in the park is 11,000 visitors.[25]
Over 50 volunteers assist zoo operations on a weekly basis.[72] The zoo's youth movement, called Tnuat Noach (Hebrew: תנועת נח, "Noah's Movement"), involves teens aged 13–15 as volunteers in the children's zoo, small animal building, and bird and herbivores sections.[73] Members meet weekly with zoo staff and participate in hikes and expeditions in nature reserves.[74]
In March 2013 a Zoo Guide application for iPhone and iPad was released, which includes GPS navigation within the zoo, detailed information (written, pictorial and audio) about the animals, and a detailed daily schedule of feedings and events.[75]
Special events
The zoo, which is open every day of the year except
Expansion plans
The master plan for expansion is drafted by the zoo's main planning body, the International Zoological Committee, which is staffed by professionals in wildlife conservation, zoo management, education, tourism and economics. This committee convened in 1993, before the reopening of the zoo, and again in 1996, when it drafted plans for adding additional animal exhibits and visitor attractions by 2010.[1]
New plans have been drawn up for an educational center and an exhibit called Yemei Bereishit (In the Days of Genesis) which replicates Biblical conditions and excludes all modern devices, including cell phones. The $30 million project will be paid for by private donations.[1]
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