(Religion News Service) Sarah Grooters - There are nearly 100 different types of animals mentioned in the Bible, many of them key players in well-renowned tales: the lions in Daniel's den; the dove that scouted for dry land from Noah's ark; the ram that was sacrificed by Abraham to save the life of his son, Isaac. Today, many of them are gone, hunted to the point of extinction or driven away by ongoing conflict. Yehoshua Shkedy, chief scientist for the Israel Parks Authority, has been trying to repopulate Israel with biblical animals for the past 15 years. Even as Shkedy wants to bring back lions and hippopotamuses, he focuses on the animals that realistically stand a chance to thrive again, like Persian fallow deer and vultures. "Israel is now too dense to reintroduce large predators," said Shkedy. "We lost the bear, for example, but who would be courageous enough to bring back a bear?"
2010-05-14 08:47:53Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive