Can one teach a bear to dance?

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Z is for zoo, the Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem.

And another old Yiddish saying:

With time, even a bear can be taught to dance. 
 אַ בער לערנט מען אויך אויס טאַנצן. A ber lernt men oykh oys tantsn.
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(Linking to ABC Wednesday.)
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Don't get my goat, said the goat on the bench

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A goat showing off its goatee at the Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem.
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(For Camera Critters Sunday.)
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Our Jerusalem lion has died

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If you click a few times on this March 2012 photo you can just about see the lion and his lioness friend.
The Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem has just announced his death:

Dear guests, We are sad to inform you of the passing of Leider the Asian lion, who was a long time resident at the Asian lion exhibit.  In recent years, Leider suffered from back pains and found it difficult to move, caused by a degeneration of the nerve system.
Leider was sixteen years old, a ripe old age for Asian lions, and his ailments continued to develop and worsen.  The zoo's veterinary staff worked very hard to treat him. At the beginning of September, he underwent CT scans, and it was discovered that there was no way to alleviate his suffering.

Leider was loved by the visitors and the staff. He came to us at the age of two years and became popular among the visitors and zoo members. He had a happy life and we are all saddened by his passing.

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There are nice photos of Leider at  http://jerusalemzoo.org.il/apage/116138.php
Pictures and tributes will be coming in on Facebook at The Jerusalem Biblical Zoo.

Rest in peace, dear old Jerusalem lion.
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PLEASE SEE MY UPDATE WITH NEW INFORMATION.
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(For Camera Critters.)
UPDATE: January 2014: A new lion has come from Sweden to replace Leider.  See the funny video of his first encounter with Israel's bright sun.
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A loner

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Getting some zzzz's at the zoo.
Jerusalem's Biblical Zoo.
Enlarge the picture to see her pretty face. 

For ABC Wednesday.
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Here kitty-kitty

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 The cheetah and the child, face to face.
The fearless girl is my granddaughter, Libby.
At Jerusalem's wonderful Biblical Zoo, February 2012.

More about the cat:  http://www.jerusalemzoo.org.il/len/aecommerce/c1952/14025.php

(A post for today's Camera Critters meme.)
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Zoo doo

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"Ask me about composting at the Zoo" his sign says.
I think most of us would gladly ask this nice young man.

Hint: enlarge the photo. See anything funny?

This article about  the Green Team at Jerusalem's Biblical Zoo says
"We make our own organic compost by mixing organic matter (Zoo Doo) from our animals, mixed with plant material producing an excellent fertilizer, great for gardening."
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(Linking to Lesley's meme, Signs, signs.)
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Six Persian fallow deer reintroduced in the Jerusalem Hills

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These are Persian fallow deer at Jerusalem's Biblical Zoo in photos I took last February.
Enlarge the photos and enjoy.

Just last week six of these animals made big news in Israel.
Six yachmurot, female fallow deer, were released into nature--right here near us in the Jerusalem Hills, in a nature reserve in the Soreq Valley! 

The breeding and return to nature program of this once almost extinct breed  has been going on for quite some years.
But it was halted over the last three years because of the increasing danger to the deer from packs of hungry feral dogs.
Because the number of now-wild dogs grew, along with the danger of rabies, it was recently decided to once again allow official rangers to shoot such dogs in parks and reserves.
 (See details in Haaretz.)
[If the article is behind a paywall you can do a simple registration for ten free articles per month at http://www.haaretz.com/misc/subscription .]

You can read more by enlarging this Zoo information sign.
Or see Zoo articles here and here. 
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What I heard yesterday in a radio interview with Zoo director Shai Doron:

The six deer were tranquilized for the 20-minute drive from the zoo to their new home.
Each doe got a radio-telemetry transmitter collar so they can be tracked and monitored.
At Shmurat Hasoreq the cage was opened and they staggered out.
At the beginning they live in a big acclimation enclosure and when they have gotten used to the Mediterranean Woodland surroundings, they are set free.
Except--the first night one of the does managed to jump over the 2-meter high fence.
They found her dead the next morning, with no signs of having been attacked.

I wish them luck.  How I would love to be hiking in my beloved Jerusalem Hills and one day see a wild deer!
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To learn how the first four Persian fallow deer were flown out of Iran just in time, see in the Wall Street Journal 
"How Bambi Met James Bond to Save Israel's 'Extinct' Deer --
It Took Cloak-and-Dagger Effort to Return Creatures From Iran to Biblical Home"
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(A post for Camera-Critters)

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A monk, pilgrims, and a granddaughter

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Psalm 86 for today's PsalmChallenge.
Our host, Robert Geiss in Athens, has a wonderful photo today for Verse 16--not to be missed! 
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PSALM 86.   A prayer.  Of David.

Incline Your ear, O LORD, answer me, for afflicted and needy am I.

2. Preserve my soul, for I am steadfast; deliver, O You, my God, Your servant who trusts in You.

3.  Be merciful to me, O my Lord, for to You I call all day long.

4. Bring joy to Your servant's soul, for to You, my Lord, I lift up my soul.

5. For You, my Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in loving kindness to all who call on You.

6. Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer; heed the voice of my pleas for mercy.

7. In the time of my trouble I call on You, so that You will answer me.

8. There is none like You among gods, O LORD, and there is nothing like You have created.

9. All the nations that You have created will come to bow down before You, O my Lord, and they will glorify Your name.

10. Indeed, great are You and creator of wonders; You are God, You alone.

11. Teach me Your way, O my LORD; I will go forward with your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart to fear Your name.

12. I will praise You, O my Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify Your name forever.

13. Indeed, Your loving kindness toward me is great, and You will save my soul from the depths of Sheol.

14. O God, arrogant men have arisen against me; a band of ruthless men seek my soul―men without regard for You.

15. But You, my Lord, are the Deity Who is compassionate and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in loving kindness and faithfulness.

16. Turn to me and have mercy on me; grant Your strength to Your servant and deliver Your maidservant's child.

17. Create for me a miracle, for good, that those who hate me may see and be put to shame, for You, O LORD, have helped me and comforted me.

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Translation: Rabbi Benjamin J. Segal.  See also his explanations and the Hebrew original. 

PHOTOS:

1. An Ethiopian monk prays at the door to their church at the Holy Sepulchre. 

2. Pilgrims softly singing on the way, in the hill country of John the Baptist.  Probably devout Russian Orthodox Christians.  I met them as I hiked today.  They and I were the only ones out in the wilderness. 

3. Libby daughter of Naomi. My youngest grandchild.  At Jerusalem's Biblical Zoo.
All the photos can be enlarged. 

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(Added to Delirious Doors meme, too.)
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Stabilized fruits

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A novel way to pick at fruit!

Enlarge the photo and see the colorful variety of fruits nailed to the palm tree stump.

This bird at Jerusalem's Biblical Zoo is a lucky Camera-Critter, having such a delicious diet.
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Gentle giraffes

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Fresh photos from the Jerusalem zoo!
Even the shadows of the giraffes stretch toward one another.

In the same expansive enclosure below us were zebras, two white rhinos, and ostriches.

A minute later the position turned into this.
But that's as far as it went.
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The post is for Camera-Critters and Shadow Shot Sunday 2.
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3 generations together for Family Day

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I just found out that today was Family Day in Israel (it once was Mother's Day).
As luck would have it, my daughter and my granddaughter are just now visiting from Australia.
So I say "Happy Mother's Day dear Naomi, mother of three of my grandchildren!"
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Here she is sitting in the pouch of a kangaroo.

Niki de Saint Phalle created several dozen of these whimsical animals for the Noah's Ark Sculpture Garden at the zoo in Jerusalem. (Enlarge the photo to see a few.)

Libby learned the Israeli ritual of dipping bagele into a little twisted paper full of za'atar.
Yum!

Laughing at the funny lemurs.

Penguin-watching.
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It's so nice to have family back here in Israel for Family Day.

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Family fun at the zoo

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For ABC Wednesday, F is for family fun!
My daughter and my youngest (age 1.10) granddaughter just arrived for a visit from Australia, and today we had a fabulous time at the Biblical Zoo.

A lemur with chutspah almost climbed into Libby's pram!

In the petting zoo, the goats were snoozing in the semi-warm sun.

Shalom Tisch Family Zoological Gardens Jerusalem, see you again next time Naomi and Libby come home to visit.
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I see you!

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Dean, my first grandchild, my Sunshine-and-Light at the end of the tunnel.
At Jerusalem's Biblical Zoo, December 24, 2006.
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It helps to keep these things in perspective, to ponder such gifts in your heart.
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Today's Theme Day at City Daily Photo is all about PERSPECTIVE.
Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.
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A Heart for Peace

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Right after posting about Jerusalem's Biblical Zoo yesterday I came across a heart-warming IDF post (see their video here).
I learned that just a few weeks ago a group of Palestinian children from the West Bank along with their parents had a field day at the Zoo.
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Their trip was organized by the army's Civil Administration unit and Hadassah Hospital.
Most of the kids had undergone heart surgery at Hadassah.
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Since 2005 there is a way for these families to get the help they need: Hadassah pays half the cost of the operation and a French NGO, the other half.
Un coeur pour la paix / A Heart for Peace has a nice little video about how it works.
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Zany creatures at the Zoo

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Zany creatures at the ZOO for ABC Wednesday today!
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These animals are wild!

Many of the 23 or more sculptures in the Noah's Ark Sculpture Garden may be climbed on.
That is just what Dean did when he came to visit Israel in 2006.

Niki de Saint Phalle and Swiss architect Mario Botta completed their work at the Biblical Zoo in 2001, in the dark days of the intifadah.
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Niki's other landmark in Jerusalem is the Golem, popularly know as the Monster (hamifletset).
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Standing on one leg, hoping for beta carotene

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Flamingos in captivity are often  just a pale  shadow of the more vividly colored wild flamingos.

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These standing on one leg*  live at  Jerusalem's  Biblical Zoo.

The zoo  website explains:

"The flamingo feeds mostly on pink shrimp and blue algae, which hold the beta-carotene pigment--giving the bird its unique color. In zoos, flamingos are given food with a color additive or vegetables like beets, red peppers and carrots  to maintain the pink color. The birds' color is mostly important for courtship rituals."

* The famous story from the Talmud (Shabbat 31a):

  Rabbi Hillel, when asked by a prospective convert to Judaism to teach him the whole Torah while he stood on one leg, replied:  

"That which is hateful unto you do not do to your neighbor. This is the whole of the Torah.  The rest is commentary. Go forth and study." 

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A post for both Camera-Critters and Shadow Shot Sunday.

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Speed of light, a cloud of dust, and a hearty "Hi-yo, Silver!"

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Summer in Jerusalem is dusty, hot, and very long this year.
Why would these zebras be running around at high noon??
Almost all the other animals at the Biblical Zoo were wisely having a siesta.


Not all the zoo's animals are mentioned in the Bible, so the official name is The Tisch Family Zoological Gardens in Jerusalem.
Their website is here and a Wiki article, here.

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Visitors can beat the heat by taking a guided tour after hours, at 8:15-11:00 pm.

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Camera-Critters meme is starting again tonight with animals from all over the world. See the critters from the comfort of your own (hopefully cool) home.
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UPDATE: As FA of the fine Monastery Daily Photo reminded me in a comment, zebras might not have been mentioned in the Bible but two of them must have been on Noah's Ark! Thanks, Brother.
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