Saturday, July 13, 2013

Thieves in Broad Daylight!


Look carefully, do you see those "cute" furry animals?  Well, they aren't all that cute to the neighbors who have found their gardens, trees, flowers, vegetables etc destroyed by them.  Poisons can't be used against them, because they are "protected."  They are called hyraxes shefanai sela.

The lawmakers who made those laws obviously haven't suffered from the damage my neighbors have.  Those thieves have no fear.  They are enjoying the landscaping and destroying it so humans won't get any enjoyment.  They have cost neighbors thousands of shekels in damaged plants, from flowers to fruit trees.

17 comments:

Yocheved Golani said...

I have the same problem in my garden. In desperation to save my pretty plants I now cover them in wire baskets from tossed-out refrigerators. If the cats knock those makeshift plant cages over, I place heavy rocks on them. I am disgusted with neighbors who leave disposable tins of food outdoors so cats can feed and roam at will. There's plenty of garbage in the trash bins that those cats invade. No need to feed the pests on purpose.

Batya said...

Yocheved, these aren't cats. Cats are carnivorous. these animals are vegetarians, only eat plants.

Yocheved Golani said...

Ah are they mongeese? I have mongeese in my garden too. They eat roots. I can't see the photo all that clearly.

sara g said...

what are they? the picture isn't clear.

Batya said...

חזיר בר, wild pig/boar, Sus scrofa

Pesky Settler said...

They are called hyrax in English.

Leah, Maaleh Adumim said...

those don't look like boars, they look like hyraxes (shefanim). who identified them as boars?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_boar

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyrax

either way, do those ultrasound-thingys manage to repel them?

Shelly said...

Those are hydrax, שפני סלע, not wild boars.

Miriam said...

Batya, resident have to protest and protest hard to your Moetza and the animal control of the country. These wild animals are not only destroying property, they are dangerous if confronted, specially to the children.

Miriam

Batya said...

thanks for the correction, Shelly, Leah, Pesky. Miriam, I'm sure those suffering from them have contacted the moetza.

Leah, I don't know.

Rickismom said...

My mother lives in the rockies and had similar problems. Then she obtained a device that makes a noice heard by (only) the animals and drives them away....

Batya said...

rm, thanks, I'll let people know

Hadassa said...

Shalom!
Those are definitely hyraces (sing. hyrax), one of which snacked on our grapes last Friday. They are garden pests AND a protected species in Israel. One of our neighbors in Elon Moreh has a special permit allowing him to "thin the herd" when the population grows to a certain level. I've never known them to injure anyone, including children. They are not particularly afraid of humans though so it's not a good idea to get very close to them. I have tried to chase hyraces away by throwing rocks near, but not directly at them. They laugh and them lumber away on their stubby legs.

Batya said...

Hadassa, so how does your neighbor "thin the herd?"

Anonymous said...

If I am not mistaken, they also are carriers for the Shoshanat yericho (which is spread by the bite of a certain type of mosquito)

This is a very very serious problem.

Leora said...

Reminds me of our groundhog problems. I have pictures of a hyrax from 2008 trip.

Batya said...

a, that's possible, because a neighbor who's plagued by the creatures had it.

Leora, every area has its pests.