After a long, but very enjoyable drive from Mitspe Ramon (see part 12), we eventually found Hai-bar Yotvata wildlife park just off the left hand side of Route 90. Hai-bar is only 30 kilometers north of the city of Eilat at the southern tip of Israel. The site is responsible for the preservation and breeding programs of animals found in the Bible. It sprawls out over a huge 3,000 acres of land from the edge of Route 90 to the border with Jordan. Recently Hai-bar Yotvata has scaled down their operations and closed a few of the sections of the park including its wild cat, wild dog and reptile house, however it still retains the large self-drive Safari. Admission is via a ticket, or in our case - the faulty Parks passes - once again going through the motions to gain access. There is also a gift shop with a good range of souvenirs.
The reserve is patrolled by rangers, and the park has very strict rules that must be observed, chiefly staying on the roads, not exiting the vehicles and keeping the car windows up if the Ostriches approach.
The park hosts around 12 species of animals and most of them seemed to have no interest in the cars driving around, although once again, we were almost the only visitors! The park is split up into two sections, separated by a high fence and stock grates in order to keep certain species away from others. All the animals we saw are in very healthy condition.
Ostriches
The ostriches can be seen all over the park. There are a great number of these birds, with a higher population of brown females than their fancy-pants male counterparts. As forewarned, these huge bids are very inquisitive and tried to eat our Go-Pro camera and various components of the Mitsubishi. They are truly fascinating creatures to behold.
Somali wild ass
The Somali wild ass is a subspecies of the African wild ass. They are very easily distinguished from similar animals with a grey body and striped white and black legs, a left over physical trait from their close relatives, the Zebra. The Somali wild ass is a rather timid animal and we saw them feeding for a short while, before they disappeared into the brush.
Onager
The Onager, otherwise known as the Asian wild ass, is the second genus of wild ass kept at Hai-bar Yotvata. It is closely related to the African wild ass. Like the Somali wild ass, there are less than 1,000 animals still left in the wild, making them critically endangered. The Onager is the most horse like of the wild ass, but with a large head and shorter legs. We saw six Onagers in our time here.
White Oryx (or Arabian Oryx)
The white Oryx are the most populous of all the animals in the reserve. They are part of the antelope family, sporting long straight horns and have a very distinctive hump on their back. I would estimate at least 200 of these were seen, but despite this, these are also endangered with an estimated 1,000 left in the wild. There are also a large number of calves and a few gravid females were also seen. Arabian Oryx's are mentioned in the bible and have been depicted in middle eastern history literature including cave paintings and drawings for thousands of years. Today they are the national animal of Jordan, Oman, UAE and Syria.
Scimitar Oryx
The Scimitar Oryx was very widespread in northern Africa, but after heavy hunting for their hides, meat and horns, were officially extinct in the wild from the year 2000. Today they are only bred in captivity and a small heard has recently been released back into the wild again in Chad. These are large Oryx's, the males weigh around 200kg. Their most distinctive feature are their beautiful curved horns that can grow more than half their body length.
Dorcas Gazelle
These small animals are declining in number around the world. They are incredibly fast when they need to be and can sprint at speeds up to 96 km/h! Their main predators, like nearly all creatures on the planet, are humans. Due to over hunting of this species, there has been a decline in the numbers of the other animals that hunt them as well, chiefly cheetahs, leopards, wolves and lions. There are an estimated 1,000 to 1,500 in the wild within Israel's borders. Only three of these were seen in the reserve.
Nubian Ibex
The Nubian Ibex is a relatively common mountain goat animal that is endemic to Israel and many other countries in the area. They are social animals and the herds comprise mainly of females and young. The fully grown males are easily spotted by their huge horns (up to 1 meter), while the females are lucky to grow horns a third of the size. Males are generally solitary but during the breeding season, the vicious fights break out between the males. This is one of the animals the reserve has, however not a single one was seen! Fortunately, we would see many of them over the next couple of weeks in the Negev in the wild.
Addax
The Addax is another antelope with very distinctive long and twisted horns. There was once huge numbers of addax in northern Africa, but today it is critically endangered. Asides from their cool wavy horns, the coat is also interesting and changes colour depending on the season. In the hotter months it is white or beige and in the winter months grey brown with dark pockets of hair on their head, neck and shoulders. Only a handful of these beautiful animals were seen.
Acacia Trees
The reserve also has a number of Acacia trees (Acacia Raddiana and Vachellia tortilis). While most of the lower foliage has been chewed off, they provide excellent shade for the animals. The one pictured above is the Vachellia tortilis.
As Vinci and I are big animal people, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves here, although as a consequence, we significantly ate into our time for Timna Park.
"And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so." - Genesis 1:24
Continue to Part 14 - click here