Jerusalem Hills jackals singing

.

Imagine being down in the valley next to the ancient spring just before nightfall, alone, and suddenly a jackal chorus rings out all around you!
Here is the video from May 25.
The jackals kept well hidden but they were close, judging by the sounds.

I walked down there often; it was just below the moshav where I lived for seven years in the Jerusalem Hills (also known as the Judean Hills).
Since moving to a small town in the Negev I have seen but one jackal and heard many.
The desert is all around us;  I know they are there.
.
(Linking to ABC Wednesday J-Day and Camera Critters.)
.

"A parched land, weary, without water"

.
The beautiful Psalm 63 today, joining PsalmChallenge in Athens.

1. A psalm. Of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Judah.

2. God, You are my Deity; I seek You—my soul thirsts for You, my body yearns for You, in a parched land, weary, without water.

3. Yes, I envision You in the sanctuary, beholding Your might and Your glory.

4. For Your loving-kindness is better than life. My lips glorify You.

5. Yes, I will bless You all my life; invoking Your name, I lift up my hands.

6. My soul is sated as with rich food, with lips of joy my mouth praises.

7. When I recall You, upon my bedding, I meditate upon You through the watches of the night.

8. For You are my help, and in the shadow of Your wings I will sing with joy;

9. my soul pursues You; it is I whom Your right hand supports.

10. And as for them, those who seek my soul for ruin—may they end up in the depths of the earth.

11. May they be spilled by the sword; may they be repast for jackals.

12. And as for the king, may he rejoice in God. All who swear by Him shall merit praise, for the mouth of liars will be muzzled.
___________________________________________________________

Photos
1. The Judean Wilderness. The sign on the fence warns "DANGER -- MINES!"
2. A jackal in my neighborhood. Photo by friend Kristine Schnarr.
.
Translation by Rabbi Benjamin Segal. See his Psalm blog for ideas about the Psalm and for the Hebrew original.
Especially interesting and appropriate for Taphophile Tragics is Rabbi Segal's note that

Jackals (v. 11) are scavengers (and therefore “foxes,” found in some translations, is inappropriate). The implication is non-burial, a cursed fate in both the Bible and the surrounding cultures (stretching to ancient Greece).

.
.

The psalmist's confrontation with God

.
Returning to our little group (you are invited to join us) at Robert Geiss' Psalm Challenge meme, I add some illustrations for Psalm 44.
.

¹We have heard with our ears, O God, our ancestors have told us, what deeds you performed in their days, in the days of old:

²you with your own hand drove out the nations, but them you planted; you afflicted the peoples, but them you set free;

³for not by their own sword did they win the land, nor did their own arm give them victory; but your right hand, and your arm, and the light of your countenance, for you delighted in them.

⁴You are my King and my God; you command victories for Jacob.

⁵Through you we push down our foes; through your name we tread down our assailants.

⁶For not in my bow do I trust, nor can my sword save me.

⁷But you have saved us from our foes, and have put to confusion those who hate us.

⁸In God we have boasted continually, and we will give thanks to your name forever. Selah

⁹Yet you have rejected us and abased us, and have not gone out with our armies.

¹⁰You made us turn back from the foe, and our enemies have gotten spoil.

¹¹You have made us like sheep for slaughter, and have scattered us among the nations.

¹²You have sold your people for a trifle, demanding no high price for them.

¹³You have made us the taunt of our neighbors, the derision and scorn of those around us.

¹⁴You have made us a byword among the nations, a laughingstock among the peoples.

¹⁵All day long my disgrace is before me, and shame has covered my face

¹⁶at the words of the taunters and revilers, at the sight of the enemy and the avenger.

¹⁷All this has come upon us, yet we have not forgotten you, or been false to your covenant.

¹⁸Our heart has not turned back, nor have our steps departed from your way,

¹⁹yet you have broken us in the haunt of jackals, and covered us with deep darkness.

²⁰If we had forgotten the name of our God, or spread out our hands to a strange god,

²¹would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart.

²²Because of you we are being killed all day long, and accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

²³Rouse yourself! Why do you sleep, O Lord? Awake, do not cast us off forever!

²⁴Why do you hide your face? Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?

²⁵For we sink down to the dust; our bodies cling to the ground.

²⁶Rise up, come to our help. Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love.

.
Translation is NRSV. Hebrew original and an older translation are here. See also Rabbi Segal's study of this psalm.
.
PHOTOS:
A sculpture at the Israel Museum.
Sheep grazing in the Jura Mountains, Switzerland.
A dead jackal in my village.
"The [Aztec] god Nanauatzin" by Yifah Adir, Mamilla mall, Jerusalem.
Grandson Dean at the Children's Wing, Israel Museum.
.

Jackal jaws

.
Jackal jaws!
Perfect for J-Day at ABC Wednesday.
.
My American friends Mark and Kristine Schnarr were staying in a house near mine for a month this summer.
From the second floor terrace Kristine sighted this jackal early one morning and with her good zoom she got these two great photos.
.
Good job, Kristine!!

You can see other posts about jackals here (although my shots are not as close-up as Kristine's).
.
If you have never heard the resounding chorus of groups of jovial jackals, listen to the audio here and enjoy!
.

Golden jackal

.
Toward evening I walked across the street to a favorite place of silence and solitude (the place where I found the discarded artwork).

A jackal was standing there!
.

When he finally noticed me, he turned tail and ran.

.

I love these encounters with wild animals, especially when it is time for Camera-Critters Sunday.

.

Sweet jackal pup!

.
Look what a sweet jackal pup!!
.
I was coming up from the woods at 7:45 pm, looked down to the olive grove, and was lucky to see the youngster, out all alone. He stood, very alert, just long enough for me to zoom in and turn off the flash and get two shots. Then he dashed off into the thicket to tell Mama and Papa Jackal about the two-legged animal he had seen.
.
You can read how baby jackals are raised in this article.
It says there that "Family or pack members communicate with each other by a screaming yell and yapping, or a siren-like howl when a kill is located."
I recorded two little sound clips of these voices that you can hear here.
Click on my label "jackal" for more pictures of these wonderful animals.
.
.
This is my contribution to Camera-Critters meme. Come and join us.

Our neighbors the jackals

Jackal! I finally got a good shot of a jackal!

Just in time for ABC Wednesday "J" day.

I was walking silently on the path in the woods, on the part that is covered with soft pine needles. Suddenly I saw a jackal standing on the path, looking out over the valley. He didn't notice me! I turned on the camera behind my back, trying to muffle the sound.
Then he saw me. I knew the minute I moved the camera he would run. So we both just stood and stared at each other. I was so enjoying being that close to a wild animal.
A second jackal came up behind the first and must have said, "What are you doing?! That's a human--let's get out of here!" Only then did I raise the camera and shoot.
Don't you love the look on his pretty face?! (even better when you enlarge the photo)
.
Jackal groups howling next to my house and in the woods can be heard on a short sound clip here. They are very funny.
To see a majestic jackal in the snow please see my post "In defense of jackals."
And to have a laugh, see "Danger lurking in the night" starring Shachar the Cat and a prowling jackal.
.

Hills are alive with the sound of jackals

One jackal starts sounding off and soon all the families in the woods and up and down the valley join in the chorus. It is really something to hear! The first video is at my friends' place on the side of our mountain, in the woods.

The second sound clip features the young jackal pups learning how to yap and howl. They were right outside my window. It took several nights to capture the sound because every time I turned on the camera they would hear it and become silent. Finally I got smart and turned off the lights and opened the lens under a pillow. They are smart critters and the cubs are so funny!

My favorite picture of a jackal neighbor (in snow!) can be found here.

Lots more animal stories and pictures at the weekend Camera-Critters blog.

Danger lurking in the night

What prowls in our dark woods?

Lara the Cat: "Uh-oh, is that a jackal I just heard?!" Jack the Jackal: "You bet your sweet life it is, tasty morsel!"

Enjoy bloggers' weekly animal postings

at http://camera-critters.blogspot.com/ every Sunday.

S for sadly dead animals

Squished frog. Camouflauge was too good.

  Serious serpent.

  Snake eggs.

  Skull of ...?

  So sorry, poor jackal. Probably struck by a car.

In defense of jackals

 .

















 I did not intend for my previous post to sound anti-jackal.
Look how majestic this jackal looks!
I was lucky enough to get his picture on a rare snowy day last January.
Love to hear them singing in the evening or night.
One will start and then a group from across the valley will answer and then another group down the valley. . . until it becomes a lively chorus.
Their calls are quite funny.
Maybe someday I will use the camera to record their music and post it as a video. They come right up to my back yard.
(UPDATE:  I did it! Hear the jackals.)


This is a jackal den a few minutes walk from my place.
I saw two parents go in and later observed the pups coming out to play with Mom.
So cute.


A sign from the nature reserve up on the mountain.
It says that the jackal (in Hebrew "tan") is one of the most prevalent predators in the Judean Hills, weighs between 8 and 9 kilos, and has a varied diet of small animals, dead animals, fruits of the season, and garbage.
That is true. I have been up on the street at 5:00 a.m. and saw them scavenging in the garbage bins.
They were surprised to see me.
But jackals don't lose their cool and run away; they SLINK away quietly and quickly. With dignity.
.