Winter is approaching, and the 80 gazelles that inhabit Gazelle Valley urban nature park in Jerusalem are preparing to survive the cold rainy weather by changing their diet and habits by switching from eating dry grass to fallen leaves, almonds, and olives, which are rich in nutrients and oils that provide a lot of energy.
In the evenings, the gazelles go for a warmup run before the temperatures drop. “As you can see, the run is joined by almost all the animals in the herd.” said herd manager Efrat Yagur.
The Eretz Yisrael mountain gazelle is an endangered species worldwide, with only about 5,000 individuals left in the wild.
“The main danger to gazelles in the wild is the destruction of natural habitats and the construction of roads, which interrupt their habitats and isolate them from their own kind,” said Amir Balaban, director of urban nature at SPNI.