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An Israeli wolf given the name “Oliel” had the good fortune of being found by compassionate samaritans after being struck by a car. The wild wolf had sustained a fractured leg and was taken to a vet by his rescuers. After surgery and a long rehab Oliel was released back into the Israeli countryside.
SEE PHOTOS OF OLIEL’S RECOVERY AND RELEASE
via This Wolf Was Hit By A Car And Left To Die. What Happened Next Is So Touching.
In ISRAEL, the Arabian wolf inhabits small areas in the countryside and fenced off landmine fields. Adapted for the desert, the Arabian or Israeli wolf is smaller than their northern gray wolf counterparts, weighing an average of 40 lbs. and stands approximately 25 inches tall at the shoulder.
Israel Nature and Parks Authority manages the wolf population and provides various degrees of legal protection as wolves are hunted, poached and culled. There are three wolf management zones in Israel; southern Golan Heights where ranchers can kill wolves for a bounty, further north where wolves have can only be killed with a permit and in the national parks where they are protected but also poached. However, poisoning wolves in Israel is illegal.
The trophic cascades in Israel that wolves serve as the apex predator to include gazelles and wild boar that they hunt, the interspecific competition with jackals, foxes and hyenas to the already sparse oak woodlands. The eradication of wolves in Israel would have drastic consequences on the ecosystem.