A Walk on the Wild Side

Meredith Price

For Dan Bolotin and Lilach Levy, the journey began six years ago. The couple left the bustle of Tel Aviv with "just" 10 ferrets, two foxes, and one donkey. Today, on a farm between Ashkelon and Beersheba, they are caring for over 100 animals and two daughters. Within the next few months, a gibbon and a baby boy are expected to join the family. At the end of a winding gravel road, a beautiful wooden house and an animal refuge overlook emerald valleys and a gigantic cactus garden. The refuge, built primarily from natural materials, houses exotic animals from all over the world. Most of them arrive after being injured in the wild, but many come from zoo closures or are on loan from zoos under reconstruction. On the day we arrived, a hawk with a broken wing had just been delivered. Upon entering the house, I found him pecking away at the living-room window. Just in time for lunch, we got to watch Bolotin and Levy feed him raw chicken hearts. With that razor-sharp beak, the joint effort was necessary to avoid being pricked. Right outside the living room, a swamp cat was roaming his territory.

"We put him here to recover. When he does, we'll try to introduce him to the others slowly," says Bolotin. At the far end of the animal habitats, a hilly enclosure is home to the gazelles. One sick fawn arrived last week from the Beduin. "We have him on antibiotics and we hope he will recover," says Levy as she gently injects him with his medicine. A former ballerina, she has the grace, patience and strength necessary to care for so many animals. After completing an M.A. in biology, she volunteered at a refuge in Cameroon with gorillas and chimpanzees and always dreamt of having a farm of her own to raise and care for animals. "This is my little Eden, with no people, just wildlife," she says.

Many people have asked why they do not open a mini-zoo for the public to help with the cost of running their refuge. The answer, to all animal lovers, is obvious. "We don't open for people to visit because we want the habitats to remain as close as possible to nature. We are not interested in 'showing' the animals, we are interested in their welfare," says Levy. THE TIME, knowledge and finances required to properly care for so many different creatures is astounding. The food alone is a huge cost. Luckily, some of the fruits and vegetables are donated, and a local farmer gives them his excess male chickens. With masters' in biology, both Bolotin and Levy know a great deal about each species and how to care for them. But food and health are not the only considerations. Proper cleaning involves hours and hours of work, and making sure all of the animals are getting the right food, enough water and suitable shelter is no small task. The fennec foxes, for example, like to dig. Rather than pour concrete, Levy and Bolotin chose to bury the fence around their entire enclosure one meter deep to ensure their happiness and safety. This way the smallest foxes in the world can dig to their hearts' content, but they do not risk being injured by instinctively trying to burrow in concrete or making it into the neighbors' pen, where a hungry swamp cat would happily eat them for breakfast. For the lemurs, primates found only in Madagascar and the Comoro Islands, it was essential to build extremely high walls for jumping and climbing. They have a house with light and heat to meet their requirements, and the tin roof of their shelter is the perfect place for a daytime snooze. Gentle and curious, these animals share their space with cockatoos and pearl chickens.

"Whenever I can, I put animals together. It's better for them and it's closer to life in the wild," says Levy. All of the pens share borders, and many of the animals are nocturnal, so the evenings provide a true chorus of uplifted voices. "Everyone screams at night," says Levy. By everyone, she means the wolves, lemurs, raccoons, coatis, foxes, ferrets, owls and jackals. Places like this, where wild animals can be brought and rescued by experts, are rare. For most animals hurt in the wild or disowned by people who bought them as pets and then tired of them, there is nowhere to turn.

"The Israeli Wildlife Protection Agency has no place to put all the animals people find or reject. They have no solutions," says Bolotin. Releasing exotic animals into the wild destroys the natural habitat of the native animals and endangers the fragile ecological balance. But exotic animals are only a small part of the problem. Domestic housecats have created a crisis in the wildcat population by interbreeding, which dilutes the wildcats' genes. The native Israeli wildcats have almost disappeared, and orphaned dogs running in packs viciously kill wildlife in great numbers, destroying the equilibrium and taking over valuable habitats. Another reason for not releasing animals back into the wild is the animals' welfare. Dr. Simon Nemtzov, a wildlife ecologist from Israel's Nature and Parks Authority, is emphatic about the dangers to both nature and the animals released. "Do not put pets back into the wild," he says. "Nature is not Bambi, and the odds are that the animal is going to suffer and die. It won't be adopted by the local population. People might think they are giving it a chance, but by turning it loose, they condemn it to the worst death imaginable. It won't know where to find food or shelter, and it will probably starve to death or be attacked and killed," he explains. There is also a slight possibility that the released pet could get established in the local population, which would be even worse for the native animals. "In my opinion, animals should be in the wild, but if people already have them, they should know how to take care of them. You can catch diseases from wild animals and destroy the balance of the animals in nature by catching them illegally," explains Avi Kernzvi, an expert animal consultant who works for the Jungle chain of pet shops.

Some of the current problems concerning Israeli wildlife welfare might soon be solved by establishing a joint wildlife sanctuary with Jordan. "A project to build a nature reserve with Jordan is under way," says Bolotin, but he warns against both smuggling animals into the country and catching them in the wild to sell. "People need a special license to sell wild animals, and it's not like taking care of a dog. People often buy a pet as a baby and then it grows up and they have no idea what to do with it," he adds. Iguanas are a big problem because they get so large and people have a hard time caring for them. They need a lot of sun, vitamins and protein. According to Bolotin, "It's OK to own exotic animals if you know how to take care of them and you buy them from a breeder, not from someone who caught them in the wild." The smugglers, on the other hand, should be shot, say Bolotin and Levy. "They should be made to pay for the damage they cause, for the cost of raising the animals in Israel and the disruptions they create in nature," says Levy. Unfortunately, according to Nemtzov, the strict laws in Israel against smuggling are rarely, if ever, enforced.

"The penalty for smuggling animals into Israel carries a maximum sentence of three years in jail and a NIS 50,000 fine," he says. "But I would be surprised to see it imposed. It's a very difficult law to enforce, and it's easy to smuggle in small animals." The majority of smuggled animals die, and the reasons for not having them in Israel are based on criteria aimed at protecting and conserving the existing ecosystem. "Our primary interest is looking out for nature conservation issues in Israel and overseas. We determine if an animal is allowed based on whether or not the species could be harmful to Israel's nature," says Nemtzov.

TAL SHETILER, the owner of an exotic pet store in Kiryat Motzkin and a snake maven, also stresses the importance of ensuring that any animals bought in Israel are legal and come from a licensed breeder. He advises people looking for an exotic animal to first decide what kind of animal they want, what they can afford and what they have space for in their home. "Once people know whether they want fish, birds, reptiles or mammals, they need to make sure that they have the space, the right environment and the time to feed the animals properly and keep their cages clean," says Shetiler. Another important consideration when looking for the perfect pet is the lifespan of the animal. Often, parents indulge children with a pet that they outgrow and later neglect. "Iguanas live anywhere from 20 to 25 years with the proper care and nutrition," says Shetiler, "and my rainbow lory bird should live close to 20 years." Buying an animal that could easily outlive you should not be taken lightly. The future should be contemplated before you purchase the pet, especially if it is for a child. "I do not recommend pythons to beginners, for example," he says as Chaos, his 40-kilo albino Burmese python, slides slowly across his shoulders, her split tongue occasionally smelling the air.

Shetiler gradually worked his way up to owning over 200 snakes, and now he is also a breeder. "I got my first snake when I was 12 or 13, and ever since then I've been collecting animals," he says. The "snake room" at the back of the house is kept a stifling 30 , and every smooth-skinned, slithering creature has its own box. These snakes socialize for breeding purposes only, and Shetiler happily shows us his new baby, the offspring of a milk albino snake and a king albino snake. It's hard to imagine how he tells the difference between them all. While the majority of the population might be deathly afraid of snakes, for Shetiler, it's the insects that bother him. "If I see an insect, I run like a 12-year-old girl," he says. But the 40-kilo python who could easily crush him to death is a welcome living-room guest.

"Aside from the snakes, Shetiler also owns sugar gliders, iguanas, leopard geckos and a rainbow lory, not to mention two dogs and two cats. "Everyone gets along fine," he says. The sugar gliders, one of the few exotic mammals legally sold in Israel, are tiny, nocturnal marsupials that can glide up to 15 meters in the wild. Their diet consists mostly of fruit, but they also love insects. The males care for the offspring, and they make a high-pitched chirping noise if their daytime nap is disturbed. The leopard geckos, named for their beautiful spots, also eat insects. They need light and warmth, and have a lifespan of about 10 years with proper care. Having all of these animals at home makes travel difficult, but the rewards of so much unconditional, non-judgmental love are much greater than the sacrifice.

It's a lot of work, but I love it," says Shetiler. For Levy and Bolotin, the benefits of caring for so many animals also far outweigh any disadvantages. "I get to see Lilach smile," says Bolotin, "and that's enough for me." "I am learning everything I should know about myself through nature, from the way I raise my kids to how I am as a person," says Levy. "Nature shows us the truth."