Photographer: Yehuda Peled, Kyama member
The fallow deer is one of the rarest species of deer in the world today. It is mentioned in the Book of Deuteronomy as one of the organisms that Jews are allowed to eat.
These are the beasts which ye may eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat, the hart, and the gazelle, and the roebuck, and the wild goat, and the pygarg, and the antelope, and the mountain-sheep. (Deuteronomy 14)
Its name is derived from the color of its reddish skin in the summer (the word “chamar” is connected to red wine). In the past, fallow deer were quite common in Western Asia, however due to extensive hunting and reduction of their home environment; these animals have become almost extinct.
A small population of fallow deer was discovered in south-western Iran in 1956 by accident. Then, in 1978, in the Chai-Bar Reserve of the Carmel Mountains, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority established a small reproductive group consisting of 4 females that were smuggled into Israel by the last El-Al plane to leave Tehran before the overthrow of the Shah in the Iranian Revolution. Two male deer were brought from a zoo in Germany.
This small reproductive group has grown and developed (in 1995 there were 150 deer) and has become the largest herd in the world of this species. It has also become the basis for a project to reintroduce the fallow deer into the wild. In 1996, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority began reintroducing the deer to Nahal Cziv. An acclimatization enclosure was built in the wadi and then twice a year, in the spring and fall, 12 deer were transferred from the Chai-Bar reproductive group to the enclosure, where they stayed for 2-3 months. Their food was supplied only from the natural growth in the area. The deer also became a social group.
During this period, the rangers took the stance of “minimal intervention” and observed the deer from afar. They also had no direct contact with the group. After their reintroduction the deer were tracked by electronic devices which allowed the rangers to receive accurate information about their integration into nature.
Today there are approximately 100 fallow deer in Nahal Cziv. This is the largest group in the world that live in nature (the global population of fallow deer numbers only 500 creatures), with most of them in Israel.
The dangers that currently exist for fallow deer are:
- Although fallow deer are a protected species, there are still people who hunt them. Every deer hunted creates a heavy loss for the small and developing group.
- Packs of wandering dogs have learned how to prey on the deer. Currently, the enclosure in Nahal Cziv is not in use because rangers discovered that a day or two after their release, most of the females were devoured. These deer, that were raised in captivity, do not have the skills needed to survive, and are therefore extremely vulnerable. Recently, a pack of dogs belonging to a family from Avdon succeeded in killing 3 deer!
- There have been cases of cars killing the deer on the road (primarily on the Northern Road), but there have also been cases of cars running over deer in the fields by dune buggies.
- There is a constant battle between the farmers in the Western Galilee area and the deer. In the summer there are not enough water sources so that the deer break into groves to drink the water even though they could be poisoned by the fertilizer. The deer also eat a lot of fruit that has been sprayed with pesticides. Some farmers view the deer as an enemy – they complain constantly and even went so far as to sue the Israel Nature and Parks Authority demanding a monetary allotment to erect high fences which would prevent the deer from entering the groves as well as compensating them for previous damages done by the deer. Sometimes the Authority encounters a situation where a farmer refuses to cooperate with the Authority when a deer enters his property taking the situation into his own hands, which usually means losing the life of the deer because they stress very quickly and die of a heart attack.
- Frequently the deer are caught in a barbed-wire fence. A number of deer carcasses hanging on fences have been found.
How can you help?
If….
- You hear gunshots in the forest
- You see a hunter with a lethal weapon
- You see deer in nature or on the side of the road
- You encounter a pack of wandering dogs
Immediately inform the Israel Nature and Parks Authority:
Eyal – 053-7762036
Amir – 053-6638961
Gil – 050-5559602
Emergency Center – *6911
Written by Miri Bokbout and Gil Ezra, of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority – Western Galilee
