The Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem.

Many years ago, when I visited Israel as a tourist, I had gone up to Jerusalem to spend some days in the Capital. There is so much to do in Jerusalem……even to do nothing but watching people can be more than entertaining.
I had bought a “ pictorial map” and found that it said “Biblical Zoo” in one of the religious neighborhoods. So off I went….. to something that should be more than a disappointment. The zoo was a smelly place with unhappy animals stuffed into cages which were much too small.
Fortunately things have changed. The zoo was closed in 1991 and reopened at a new location in 1993. Today it is a spacious park with lots of green and water flowing.
The vision of the zoo is “ To establish a zoological collection and to maintain it under optimal living conditions, in an effort to preserve rare animals and species threatened with extinction. Prominently featured in the collection are animals from the Land of Israel, with special emphasis on those species mentioned in the Bible.”
Besides “displaying” animals the zoo is aiming at conducting research, breeding and reintroducing animals to the wild. There is a zoo hospital on the spot to ensure good care for wounded or sick animals. ( You can check out their web site at http://www.jerusalemzoo.org.il/ )

One of the special things about this zoo is that it is “kosher”. As we get close to Pessach or Passover( the Feast of the unleavened bread), the animals will be fed unleavened food only.

The signs giving information about the animals are written in Hebrew, Arabic and English. In some cases they even have information in Yiddish. ( Yiddish is a spoken Jewish language “made up from” Hebrew, Polish and German.) Some religious Jews use Hebrew only for prayer and studying the Bible and use Yiddish as their daily language. As many of the visitors to the zoo are religious there are cases when information has to be given in Yiddish as well;
The most unpopular animal in the Bible is the pig….One of the species at the zoo is called “ Collared peccary”. This animal looks like a pig. In order not to offend the religious visitors this particular sign has an addition in Yiddish reading; “ Dos iz nisht a chazir.” which means : “ This is not a pig”.
The next time you are asked which animal has a curly tail, loves to dig in the dirt and sais “oink, oink” , the answer may not be as obvious as you think.

Churchill once said ; " I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals."

Elin Elkouby