Cary Jarrett in Jerusalem: Hai-Bar Wildlife Preserve

One afternoon in December during the holidays, I went to the Hai-Bar Wildlife Preserve very far south in Israel near the Jordanian and Egyptian borders. At Hai-Bar, their goal is to preserve Biblical and desert animals. This beautiful leopard was resting in the tree limb. On Kay's memorial service pamphlet, one of the verses we used described a few animals behavior during the millinium when the Lord Jesus will reign. “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them. Isaiah 11:6.

I was most surprised by the long, beautiful spotted-tail. Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil. Jeremiah 13:23.

These little desert foxes were enjoying the warm sun. Both Matthew and Luke record the Lord Jesus's analogy of not having a home during His ministry and purpose 2000 years ago. And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” Matthew 8:20; Luke 9:58.

In another prophetic passage, Isaiah describes the wolf and the lamb eating side by side someday. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, The lion shall eat straw like the ox, And dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,” Says the LORD. Isaiah 65:25.

Below is a caracal with those unique ears.

A caracal is also known as African or Persian Lynx, so says Google.

There is nothing to like about snakes. Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” Genesis 3:1.

So the LORD God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. Genesis 3:13.

Below these little desert mice or rats were constantly moving around. One unique building at Hai-Bar was for nocturnal animals. During the day, Hai-Bar keeps the building dark so you can see the nocturnal animals moving about their habitat. Then during the night, the "lights" are turned on so the animals can sleep. It was very dark to walk through and no pictures were allowed. I did enjoy seeing a group of bats flying around plus little creatures known as "hedge hogs". While walking in the extreme darkness, you are counting on all the snakes, bats, etc. to be secure in their cages.

There are actually some wild parrots that fly around The German Colony where I live. They do look like this. They fly and land in very high trees. It is hard to get a photo.

These owls were watching me very closely. There was no need for them to worry about me. I knew that it was not kosher to eat them. ‘And these you shall regard as an abomination among the birds; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: ... the short-eared owl, the little owl, the fisher owl, and the screech owl; the white owl ... and the bat. Leviticus 11:13-19.

Ditto for the falcon. ‘And these you shall regard as an abomination among the birds; ... and the falcon after its kind; Leviticus 11:13-14.

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. Matthew 7:15.

Below is a striped hyena. Not sure I had ever seen one before. There are probably many in Iraq near Biblical Babylon. Isaiah recorded a picture of Babylon's defeat. But wild beasts of the desert will lie there, ... The hyenas will howl in their citadels, And jackals in their pleasant palaces. Her time is near to come, And her days will not be prolonged.” Isaiah 13:21-22.

Hai-Bar also has a wildlife drive-thru section. Below is a white oryx.

Like any animal park, the time to go is when they are being fed.

These "wild" donkeys are called onagers. God Almighty asked Job “Who set the wild donkey free? Who loosed the bonds of the onager, Whose home I have made the wilderness, And the barren land his dwelling? Job 39:5-6.

Below is an addax. In the Tanach that I have with me, Moses described the addax as an animal that you could eat. Many translations have "mountain goat". “You shall not eat any detestable thing. These are the animals which you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat, the deer, the gazelle, the roe deer, the wild goat, the mountain goat (addax), the antelope, and the mountain sheep. Deuteronomy 14:3-5.

A small herd of white oryx.

Ma and Pa Addax? With the mountains of Jordan in the background.

At first glance, this donkey looks like Kay's Boomer, Hannah, or Rachel. However, this is actually a Somali Wild Ass. Look closely at the legs which are striped like a zebra.

Just like zebras, their striped-legs are never the same. Only the Lord knows how many stripes, how wide, and which direction they go on all of them.

A scimitar horned oryx looking at me.

Ostriches are defintely unique birds. God Almighty Himself describes them in detail when talking to Job. “The wings of the ostrich wave proudly, But are her wings and pinions like the kindly stork’s? For she leaves her eggs on the ground, And warms them in the dust; She forgets that a foot may crush them, Or that a wild beast may break them. She treats her young harshly, as though they were not hers; Her labor is in vain, without concern, Because God deprived her of wisdom, And did not endow her with understanding. When she lifts herself on high, She scorns the horse and its rider. Job 39:13-18.