The Laughlins

As I mentioned before, we went to the zoo for Mark's birthday. We had a lot of fun and enjoyed the monkeys the most. In Lemur Land, the lemurs are jumping all around you, because you are in their big pen! It was a lot of fun. I took a lot of videos too, so look for another post soon that just shows video clips!

I got the following write-up from the zoo's website: Today, the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo, as it is still unofficially known, stretches across an area of 250 dunams (25 hectares or 62 acres) in a lovely valley surrounded by green hills and new neighbourhoods. The zoo encircles a small lake situated near the main gate. The lake is fed by a series of pools and waterfalls that flow one into the other. Spacious lawns and shady beauty spots surround the lake and pools. The water system is artificial, and relies on recycled water. The zoo is built on two main levels that house most of the animal exhibits. One main, circular route extends the length of both levels and connects most of the sites on the zoo grounds. Additional side paths also connect the two levels, and exhibits are situated along these paths as well.

Our zoological collection centers on two main themes:

The first emphasis is placed on animals mentioned in the Bible. The majority of these animals became locally extinct in the Land of Israel, mostly in the twentieth century. The factors primarily responsible for these extinctions were hunting, habitat destruction, and a feverish pace of construction and development. This group of animals includes species with fascinating histories, creatures like the bears and lions, the Persian fallow deer and Arabian oryx, the cheetah and the Nile crocodile, and many other species that can be found throughout the zoo.

The second emphasis in the zoological collection involves endangered species from around the world. In this group we have, among other species, the Golden lion tamarin, the rarer of the macaws and cockatoos, the ibises, and the Asian elephant.

Most of the animals in the zoo reside in large enclosures that were designed to resemble the natural habitats of the various species. As in any modern zoo today, the staff of the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo devotes a great deal of effort to providing its animals with a maximal amount of living space in a rich, diversified, and stimulating environment.