Birds, turtles, and hedgehogs: This is how Hezbollah is destroying animal life in Israel’s North

“The war in the north has caused tremendous losses to the animal habitat,” says Rona Nadler Valancy, chief of the Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund Agamon Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, Agamon Wildlife Rehabilitation Center and the Agamon Center’s veterinarian. The Wildlife Rehabilitation Center treats injured wildlife that is brought in from the Galilee and Golan, rehabilitates them, and releases them back into nature. She explains that the fires and destruction caused by Hezbollah rockets and drone attacks extended into the breeding season of many animals, which is almost over.

Israel’s north is burning. This is how you can help>>

“We are having a lot of losses from nesting sites,” says Nadler Valancy. “So while, for example, adult birds can escape fires by flying away, there are nestlings and hatchlings and even fledglings that don’t have the capability to escape a fire, so they all perish.” She adds that the reptile population in the North has been devastated, because they move too slowly to escape the fires. Small mammals such as hedgehogs are also susceptible. Even the animals that can escape the devastation find that when they return, their habitat has been destroyed. 

Nadler Valancy says losses due to fire are a major issue. She reports the case of a tortoise whose shell was severely burned by fire that was brought to the Rehabilitation Center. Fortunately, it survived and was sent to rehabilitate at the Safari in central Israel. Due to the war, she adds, far fewer Israelis are out and about in Israel’s North, and fewer injured animals are brought to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center for treatment.

Army vehicles, she adds, move around quite a bit at night and can cause road accidents at wildlife crossings. 

Fewer birds

Yaron Charka, KKL-JNF’s head ornithologist, agrees with Nadler Valancy and says that the war in the North has negatively affected the animal population in Israel’s North. “We don’t always know the definitive causes, but I can say that in the Agamon Hula-JNF Nature and Ornithology Park, there were many fewer birds than in previous years.” He notes that in a recent experiment conducted with greater spotted eagles in Ukraine, researchers attached GPS devices to birds that showed their flight paths and found that the birds had changed their flight paths to avoid battle areas in the Ukraine. 

Israel’s north is burning. This is how you can help>>

Charka echoes Nadler Valancy’s words about the deaths of nesting birds and says, “Many of the birds are losing an entire generation of chicks.”  

KKL - JNF’s firefighting service, which includes 26 fire trucks and 300 employees who work in firefighting in addition to their professional roles, has been actively participating in extinguishing forest fires throughout Israel’s North caused by Hezbollah rockets and drones. KKL - JNF’s firefighting system operates in full cooperation with the security forces, police, IDF, local authorities, emergency squads, fire and rescue services, and the Nature and Parks Authority.

In addition, KKL-JNF foresters are busy maintaining roads and access points throughout the North, trimming trees and bushes to enable firefighters to quickly reach areas set on fire by rockets and drones. 

Renewing the damaged forests, says Charka, can help improve bird areas, though it will take many years. When parts of the forest are burned, it will take decades for the trees to return to their original size.  Nadler Valency says that wildlife is resilient, and when the winter arrives, the habitat will begin to regenerate, but it is a long process. She adds that readers who find an injured wild animal in Israel – regardless of where they live –  ¬ can call *3639, and it will be picked up and taken for rehabilitation.

Help KKL-JNF save and rehabilitate Israel’s North – not only its people but also its wildlife and natural habitat. Click here to give generously. 

This article was written in cooperation with KKL-JNF.