Yotvata Hai-Bar Nature Reserve

The reserve sits in the Arava desert, straddling Route 90—the Arava Road—roughly 32–35 kilometers north of Eilat.[1][2] To the west rise the Shayarot Cliffs; to the east lies the Jordanian border.[2] Despite receiving an average of only 25 millimeters of rain annually, the area encompasses one of the South's largest salt flats.[1] The Yotvata salt marsh is relatively rich in vegetation, supporting a variety of animals and helping make the site suitable for a program to restore large wild animals that had disappeared from Israel's landscapes.[2]

Reported measurements of the reserve vary. The Jewish Virtual Library gives an area of 34,500 dunams, or 8,650 acres, while a 2022 Ynet report gives approximately 32,000 dunams.[3][2] A 2017 account describes the reserve as covering roughly 12 square kilometers.[1] The sources do not explain the discrepancy.

The Hai-Bar program grew out of Israel's broader nature-conservation movement. The government established the Nature Reserves Authority in 1963 to protect the country's flora and fauna, and some 380 areas were selected as nature reserves.[3] Within that framework, Yotvata became a desert-animal breeding center intended to help reintroduce species that had lived in the region during biblical times.[4]

Breeding attempts at Yotvata began in 1966 with the approval of the World Wildlife Fund.[3] Accounts differ on the reserve's formal establishment: a 2010 report gives 1968, while a 2017 account places it in the 1970s.[1][5] In 1998, the Nature Reserves Authority became part of the Israel Nature and Park Authority, which assumed responsibility for the country's natural and archaeological reserves and parks.[3]

Across the Hai-Bar program's first stage, the selected species were ostriches, roe deer, Asiatic wild asses, Persian fallow deer, and white oryx.[4] All except the roe deer were globally endangered at the time, and founder animals came from zoos and wild populations around the world.[4] A small herd of African wild asses was brought from Ethiopia to Yotvata in the early 1970s. A small herd of Arabian, or white, oryx arrived in the late 1970s after the species had become extinct in Israel at the beginning of the twentieth century.[6]

The reserve's primary purpose has been to acclimatize desert herbivores and return suitable species to the wild. Two species have been successfully reintroduced into Israel's open landscapes: the Asiatic wild ass and the white oryx.[2] Asiatic wild asses were first released in Israel in 1982 in the Ramon Crater area and subsequently established themselves across a substantial portion of the Negev Highlands.[4][2] White oryx releases began in 1996 in the northern Arava and the large wadis.[2] Visitor accounts have also described animals raised at Hai-Bar adapting to life in the Ramon Crater and elsewhere in the Negev.[7] By the time of a 2023 report, about 120 oryx remained at Hai-Bar Yotvata, with dozens more having been returned to the wild in the Arava and southern Negev in recent years.[8] Oryx are social animals that live in herds of up to ten and are adapted to desert conditions, including the ability to survive for many days without drinking.[8]

The reserve also keeps African wild asses, addax, and Saharan oryx as part of international captive-conservation efforts; these species are not intended for release into the wild in Israel.[2] Wild herds of naturally occurring Negev gazelles and the rare acacia gazelle—a subspecies of the Israeli gazelle—also inhabit the reserve area.[2]

The acacia gazelle is among the most critically endangered animals associated with the reserve. A 2019 report estimated that only 30 to 40 acacia gazelles remained, with most living in a closed section of the reserve where they could be protected and allowed to breed.[9] Rangers counted the population twice a year and monitored individuals for health problems.[9] A separate peer-reviewed study compared Acacia trees in the Acacia Gazelle Enclosure with trees in dorcas-gazelle habitats at Evrona, Yotvata Hai-Bar, Shezaf, and Wadi Shita. It found a significantly higher browsing line in the enclosure, indicating high browsing pressure that could affect the acacia gazelles' survival.[10]

Ostriches have long been among the reserve's most visible animals.[4] A 2023 cooperative project between the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and agencies in Senegal used DNA analysis to confirm that the reserve's North African, or red-necked, ostriches were nearly identical to the subspecies living in Senegal.[11] The project established an artificial hatchery at Yotvata to build a local breeding nucleus and help Senegal develop one using eggs from Israel, with the longer-term aim of enabling reintroductions in suitable reserves.[11] About 30 red-necked ostriches had been bred at Hai-Bar Yotvata by that point.[11] An attempt in the 2000s to return ostriches to the wild in Israel—described as the first such attempt in the world—had not succeeded as of 2022.[2]

Among the individual animals associated with the reserve, the ostrich Franco drew attention in a 2023 report. Franco hatched in the reserve's artificial incubator in June 2022 after 40 days in the hatchery.[11] The young ostrich was kept in a protected area under caretaker supervision until six months old and was then moved to a more open section of the reserve. Franco initially appeared to struggle before adapting and feeding independently.[11] The report noted that Franco's sex had not yet been determined.[11]

The North African ostrich declined rapidly across its natural range during the preceding 50 years because of hunting for feathers and food, egg collection, and habitat loss.[11] The cooperative breeding program seeks to establish a substantial local breeding nucleus while supporting a parallel effort in Senegal, with eventual reintroduction in suitable reserves as a longer-term goal.[11] Transfers of eggs from Israel to Senegal had produced limited success, with most transferred eggs failing to hatch.[11]

Visitor accounts describe a self-guided drive-through route explored in visitors' own vehicles.[1][7] Animals seen along the route have included ostriches, oryx, Asiatic wild asses, gazelles, and addax.[7] Ostriches are notably curious about vehicles and have been observed pecking at windshields, hoods, and roofs, apparently expecting to find food.[1]

Visitors are not permitted to leave their vehicles in the open area or drive off designated tracks.[7] During the hottest part of the day, animals may be difficult to spot; however, a special dark room allows certain otherwise hard-to-observe species to be viewed.[12]