Wildlife of Israel
Species such as the Syrian brown bear and the Arabian ostrich have become extinct in Israel because of their loss of habitat.
The largest predator in Israel was the Arabian leopard which is now also believed to be extinct[3] due to the lack of sightings since 2011.
[5] Researchers from Tel Aviv University found 12 species of bat living in old army outposts in the Jordan Valley.
[7] Rapid urbanization as well as overforestation (planting many dense eucalyptus and pine forests) have caused the destruction of many natural habitats in modern times.
One of the most famous examples of habitats destroyed is the drying of swamps including the Hula lake which caused the local extinction of the European water vole and jungle cat.
An ancient wave of urbanization during the Iron Age resulted in the local extinction of the aurochs, bubal hartebeest, and hippopotamus.
[8] Another distinguished cause of endangerment is the past use of DDT and other chemicals which has hurt all of the birds of prey populations as well as the bat population (mainly Microchiroptera) which were also killed by human made lighting in the caves due to the suspicion that fruit-eating bats were harming local crops.
[10][11] The extinct narrow-nosed rhinoceros may have survived in Israel as recently as 15,000 years ago, which if correct would make it the youngest known record of the species.
[14][15] The number of amphibians in Israel has decreased dramatically since the last century mainly due to the drying of various swamps and wetlands by early settlers.
[5][17] The European green toad is the most widespread amphibian in Israel, living across nearly the entire Mediterranean shore.
While the toad is usually limited to areas with a constant supply of water, populations have begun to spread into drier places.
Only a few hundred adult toads remain in Israel due to splitting of habitats and the species' loyalty to their spawning spots.
The newts have slightly different breeding seasons depending on location, ranging from January–February in the coastal plains to February–March in the Galilee.
The local populations differ in size (Tel Dan salamanders are much smaller), arrangement of spots on the skin and colour (ranging from orange to yellow), in mating habits and times, as well as activity times (Tel Dan salamanders are active throughout most of the year because of their proximity to water).
About 500 million birds from 500 species pass through Israel during the bi-annual migration season, from Europe and West Asia to Africa in the winter, and back in the spring.
Existing stations will be upgraded in Eilat, the Jordan Valley and kibbutzim Kfar Ruppin and Ma'agan Michael.
[27] Lake Hula is the stopover point for tens of thousands of cranes migrating from Finland to Ethiopia every winter.
The Galilee fumitory (Fumaria thuretti Boiss), a rare flower with bright pink blossoms and an elongated bulge that collects nectar and attracts wild bees, was discovered in 2012 after botanists believed it was extinct.
