Israeli Scientists Breathe New Life Into Extinct Species - Thirty Days After: the Carmel Begins Its Rebirth

Male Persian fallow deer in Mount Carmel fore

Israeli scientists say they have succeeded in breathing new life into rare species of animals that once were nearly extinct in the region.

According to Professor David Saltz of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, a two-decades-long project to reintroduce Israel's ancient wildlife has been a profound success.

Data on the project presented last week at a conference held by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority showed rare species indeed are starting to flourish as in times of old.

Scientists have dedicated their efforts towards raising Mesopotamian (Persian) fallow deer, oxen, eagles, onager and Arabian oryx.

Wild oxen now wander the Arava, according to Saltz, and some 200 onager now roam the Negev. A like number of fallow deer make their home in the Achziv region of Galilee, and 100 eagles raised in captivity have now been released to the wild as well.

The project, which is ongoing, is based in two protected nature reserves. One is located in the extreme southern end of the Negev desert (Chai Bar South Yotvata).

The other, (Chai Bar Carmel) is located along the northern coastal region, at the top of Mount Carmel just outside Haifa, where a wildfire recently stripped the land of its forest. Volunteers and project workers who worked tirelessly to rescue the animals as the inferno raged miraculously succeeded in saving every single one.

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In Judaism, the seven-day ('shiva') mourning period of a departed person is followed by the 'shloshim,' which ends when thirty days have passed since the death. At this time all immmediate relatives of the departed, except for sons and daughters, stop observing the customs of mourning. 

Thirty days have passed since the tragic Carmel fire, and the families of the 44 dead are only beginning to digest the tragedy that befell them. The burned and wounded are at the start of a long and painful process of rehabilitation.

With the millions of trees that burned down, however, things are simpler. Already, there are signs of green among the gray ashes of the blaze. An anonymous photographer recorded the first signs of rebirth in the devastated forest.

Photographs by: anonymous