In Salfit Ramallah West Jerusalem Hebron and the Jordan Valley a few hundred Palestinian mountain deer are still hiding away from hunters who are keen to hunt them either to taste their meat or to keep them in their own homes.
However most of these deer go to the northern and central areas of Tubas Jiftlik Jericho and Ein Gedi because they are adjacent to the Jordanian border which are security areas that are not accessible to hunters.
Another group has taken from the mountains of West Jerusalem a place to hide in search of safety in the mountains of Walaja Qastal Kalonia Deir Yassin Sharafat and Ein Karem because these areas cannot be reached by hunters.
Shape
Emad al-Atrash Director of the Wildlife Society in Palestine said that the mountain deer of Palestine is distinguished from other deer of Africa East Asia and some European regions in the height of the neck and legs and the thin body. They mostly have a dark and brown skin especially in the back because they are always exposed to the sun yet their belly tends to be white while some light white lines adorn both sides of their body.
Studies show that the breed of Palestinian deer is characterized by a more concentrated color of the desert deer living in North Africa.
Al-Atrash pointed out in a special interview to the PIC correspondent that the Palestinian mountain deer is covered with a soft smooth glossy shiny fur in the summer which looks like silk while its fur grows more in winter and becomes longer and thicker and brighter and less absorbent allowing it to absorb the heavy rains in high mountain areas.
According to Al-Atrash the Palestinian mountain deer is also characterized by solid horns which are larger in the case of males. The length of the mountain deer’s fur is 22-29 cm. It is straight and takes the shape of rings unlike the female ones which don’t take the shape of rings and are 11 cm long.
Size
Environmental experts in Palestine estimate that the number of mountain deer is 500-1000 scattered between the mountains of Western and Central Palestine and the Palestinian Valley areas. This is a clear indication of the decline in the number of mountain deer from previous years according to Mohamed Mahasneh Director of the Department of Animal Diversity at the Environmental Quality Authority.
“Palestine has witnessed a significant decline in the number of Palestinian mountain deer” Mahasneh told reporters. “The number of mountain deer in the late 1990s was about 10000 and in 2010 it dropped to about 2000 only due to several factors.”
It is estimated that the approximate number at the end of 2017 has fallen to about 500 deer and some believe that they do not exceed 300 deer. However Palestinian environmental quality sources suggest they reach 1000 deer especially since there are no field surveys.
The causes of extinction
Many factors have led to the extinction of the Palestinian mountain deer the most important of which are: the shooting of the deer by hunters who are looking for money through hunting while others enjoy tasting their meat at a time some prefer to keep them at their homes and farms to enjoy their attractive view according to the Director of Environmental Resources at the Authority Environmental Quality Issa Baradei.
Limited penalties
The absence of deterrent laws against hunters prompts them to continue pursuing the mountain deer. Palestinian laws in this regard do not deter.
Article (41) of Law No. 7 of 1999 states: “The hunting killing or seizure of birds wild and marine animals and fish specified in the executive regulations of this law shall be prohibited. The possession transport roaming or sale of such birds and animals shall be prohibited. Selling them alive or dead as well as the destruction of their nests or the destruction of their eggs is also prohibited.”
Article (71) stipulates that anyone who contravenes the provisions of Article (41) of this Law shall be punished by a fine of not less than twenty Jordanian Dinars and not more than two hundred dinars or the equivalent thereof in the legally circulated currency or else they might face an imprisonment for a period of not less than three days and not more than two weeks or one of these two penalties; and this in turn unleashed the hunters to hunt the Palestinian mountain deer.
International warning
International reports indicate that the Palestinian mountain deer is under threat of extinction. According to the IUCN Red List the Palestinian mountain deer are disappearing because of the lack of proper attention.
According to an international report the past 15 years have witnessed a fierce war against the Palestinian mountain deer. Their numbers have gradually declined and may face the fate of the Egyptian and Syrian deer which have become completely extinct due to hunting.
The warning came through studies by British wildlife expert David Malone of the International Union for the Protection of the Environment (IUCN) in a study called “Red List: Animals that are endangered and extinct.”
There is nothing left of the Palestinian mountain deer except the songs and poems that mourn them: “He opened his eyes and extended his hand to get some Hennah a small dear how come his family allowed him to be on its own?”
