Head-butting Ibex of Mitzpe Ramon

I was walking to the Crater Shul for Minchah on Erev Yom Kippur. Approaching the door, which backs up to a large park near the crater's edge, I encountered a herd of mostly young Ibex, tensely gathered together over what looked like some delectable treat on the ground. Several young males were contesting for it, as a sage veteran looked on, when all of a sudden the elder of two young Ibex started head-butting the younger away from the treat which he claimed for himself, apparently with the approval of the elder looking on. It is amazing to see how quickly the head butts come, just as it is amazing to see how quickly the Ibex can disappear up or down a vertical wall.

Two young male Ibex fight over a tasty morsel on Erev Yom Kippur

The Ibex scattered as yeshiva boys appeared for Mincha.

  

  

Don't Feed the Ibex

Everyone knows you're not supposed to feed wild animals. It makes them become dependent on human hand outs, the food may disagree with them and sicken them, and food packaging may get stuck in their gut and kill them. Still, people feed the Ibex and they have become dependent on it. Even if they don't eat from people's hands they frequent the many garbage bins in Mitzpe Ramon, looking for a fast meal. So attractive is human food waste to wild animals that the best places to see porcupines, fox, wolves and hyenas is around a garbage dump or garbage bin. In fact, when we went on a night time desert tour to find wild animals we spent almost all of our time around Kibbutz vineyards, hen houses, and food dumps. Even wild animals appreciate an easy meal.

The Ibex are fed regularly by humans in Mitzpe Ramon. Sometimes you will see a car laden with spoiled vegetables stop by the Machtesh and cartons of vegetables will be thrown out which they greedily devour. I have been stopped by traffic jams in Mitzpe Ramon caused by a herd of Ibex queuing up to eat vegetable handouts. And tourists and locals alike tempt them with bread to bring them close for hand feeding and viewing. One of the dangers here is that they will swallow plastic packaging which will cause an intestinal blockage, killing the animal.

Now that it's August the Ibex have come to town where they are frequently fed by children and others.

Neighborhood children feed Ibex potatoes.

I even got into the game, bringing out some over ripe peaches for the Ibex to enjoy.

An Ibex enjoys a peach.

An old male Ibex enjoys an apple.

It's hard to believe these creatures can climb a vertical wall in a flash.

The Ibex Days of August

Sirius, the Dog Star, makes August known as the month of the Dog Days. the Dog Days of August, thought the ancients, were so hot because the Dog Star, Sirius, the brightest in the heavens, shone in the day time sky together with the sun from morning until evening. During these hot days in the desert the Ibex come into town, seeking shade and pasture from the grass that grows in the irrigated parks. They can usually be seen under the trees along Nachal Arod, which is the Machtesh perimeter road in Mitzpe Ramon. I call these the Ibex Days of August in Mitzpe Ramon.

A male Ibex takes in the summer day near the crater's edge. (As always, click for a larger image.)

I never tire of seeing these animals with their majestic wildness and nimbleness.

An older male basks in the shade. Note his beard.

Young female Ibex sleep the day away. Note the cloven hooves. The Ibex is kosher, and an endangered protected animal in Israel.

A young male Ibex.

A female with her young male kid.

  

The Ibex Return to Mitzpe Ramon

It's not that they ever left, but August seems to be the month when herds of Ibex invade town, stuffing themselves with garbage and as much grass as they can find. You usually have to go to the Machtesh to see Ibex, but I remember last year when we were house hunting in Mitzpe Ramon, that there were an unusually large number of them in town. Then after we arrived in December, not so many until this month.

Ibex gorge themselves at garbage bins and on available grass

The males usually flock separately from the females and young, but on this day we saw them together. However, the males kept their distance, herding together on the edge of the female and young pack.

Alpha males keep watch over females and young. They stood very still and motionless for quite a few minutes while I took this photo. (Click for full-size image.)

I love watching the Ibex graze so near. They are so peaceful and graceful.

Ibex graze in a park in Mitzpe Ramon

These two were just outside our door.

Young male Ibex

Young female Ibex with collar and transmitter

When they've eaten their fill or get frightened they head back to the safety of the crater's edge.

  

Dragged by a Llama

Rebecca O'Sunnybrook Farm won't be heading to the Alpaca Farm today. Instead, she is home resting. Yesterday while trying to socialize a Llama, the beast knocked her down and dragged her across the corral. Now I understand why young Llamas need to be trained in the social graces.

Corral rash from a Llama dragging

On the way home, we encountered these two male Ibex who had managed to jump a fence protecting the greenery growing in the center of this traffic circle. Soon it will be all gone. Ibex have a voracious appetite for greens.

Ibex help themselves to a large serving of park greenery.

  

First of the Season's Baby Ibex

A few weeks ago, April 27th to be exact, I caught site of the first of the season's baby Ibex. One young'un was out with Mom in the afternoon sun by the crater's edge. This baby wasn't just born, but its coat seemed disturbed and uneven, in the way of new born wild things.

Baby Ibex with Mom

Baby Ibex by crater's edge

Females and babies herd together separate from the males. I have seen no other Ibex in the day time since I took these photos. However, at night one can creep up on them as they perch over the precipitous carter's rim, watching out over the crater in the night air.

A rather Kangaroo like pose

  

The Storm of the Century - Aftermath I

By Tuesday, January 19, the rains had subsided leaving Mitzpe Ramon shrowded in a thick pea soup fog. In town the fog covered everything with a cold haze.

A thick fog covered Mitzpe Ramon after the storm

Out on the Machtesh, a complete white out wrapped the crater in a thick gauze of white.

Post-storm fog whites out the Machtesh

But by late afternoon, the fog had burned off leaving blue sky with fair weather cumulus clouds.

 Fair weather cumulus with some thunderheads remain after the fog burns off

Around town, large pools of water accumulated everywhere.

 

And a young Ibex wanders about in the post rain fog.

A young Ibex wanders near the Lookout in the post-storm fog in Mitzpe Ramon

  

 

Spot and the Trotting Ibex

Spot the Dog seems to be settling in to his new home. He has a taste for long walks that he hasn't had since he was a young dog many years ago. A few days ago he insisted on walking around the perimeter road of Mitzpe Ramon, a circular distance of about a mile from our apartment.

One of the nice views on this walk is the approach to Har Gamal, or Camel Lookout, a mountain whose top has been carved by wind erosion to resemble the body of a kneeling camel. I have heard the winds are quite fierce at the top of this mountain, and I look forward to the challenge of getting there some day soon.

Har Gamal, or Camel Lookout, as seen from Mitzpe Ramon's perimeter road

We were walking around 3:00PM, two hours before sunset. This seems to be the time the Ibex begin returning to the Machtesh from town. We saw a small herd in the field near the crater, and then this one who trotted quickly in front of us to join them. I love the sound of their hooves on the ground.

An Ibex trots in front of Spot and me

Spot paid no special attention to the Ibex who joined this small herd across the street.

A small herd of Ibex

They quickly ambled off toward the crater's rim, and we continued our walk home.

 

Evening Ibex Sighting

I came out of our apartment one evening, surprised to bump into a pair of large, male Ibex in front of my door. They don't usually stay in town this late, usually returning to the crater during dusk. But here they were. They walked up the side walk. One stood on its hind legs to munch some geraniums that were otherwise just out of reach. Ibex are herbivores, and I had read that they will stand to reach vegetation, but I had never seen one do this before. It looked quite funny, like a scene out of Rocky and Bullwinkle.

I grabbed my camera and followed them as they headed toward the crater. They moved effortlessly, so I was surprised at how quickly they covered ground. I had to run to keep up. Finally I came up beside a Big One, just five feet away and said, "Hello". He did not answer back. I was aware that I could be in alot of trouble if this 250 pound animal with big horns turned on me, but they seem so placid that fear disappears in their presence. After a moment, he scooted off with his friend over a wall.

Night time Ibex

Morning Ibex Sighting

On my first full day in Mitzpe Ramon, December 15, 2009, I arose early to go to the crater's rim to look for Ibex. Morning is generally the best time to see them, dusk the next. As I walked up the hill of Nachal Grofit to the crater I spied this Ibex coming around the corner of the school:

An Ibex seen on my first morning in Mitzpe Ramon

 

 As I draw closer I see this magnificent male in the early morning light

He turns and walks about 10 feet in front of me

The next morning I see a herd of Ibex with a small boy near-by. He chases them. They run away into the rising sun:

A young boy chases a herd of five Ibex (Double-click for full-frame)

We are Visited by Mark and Uncle Rafi Finkel

I wish I could say we entertained the Finkels, but their visit coincided with the 10th of Tevet, a fast on the Jewish calendar, so the most we could do was show them around. Mark was in Israel for a friend's son's Bar Mitzvah. Mark is the kind of guy who will drop everything to attend a friend's simcha, and he was in Israel for just a short time for that. Uncle Rafi is one of the unsung heroes of the Jewish State. He came to Israel in 1948, after lying to get in to the Marines during WWII (he was under-age), "because of what happened to the Jews in Germany." He has been involved in many of the road building projects in Israel and can tell you just about everything that has happened here from personal experience.

Our first stop was at the little neighborhood shul at the crater's rim. It is divded into an Askenazic side and a Sephardic side. Since most of the residents of Mitzpe Ramon are Sephardim, it is by far the best attened in the neighborhood.

Uncle Rafi and Mark stand in front of our neighborhood shul in Mitzpe Ramon

The ark of the Sephardic shul is carved olive wood, and chandaliers hang in the traditional Sephardic style from a pyramidal roof.

 Mark in the Sephardic half of our neighborhood shul

The Askenazic side of the shul has an ark made of beaten copper, reminiscent of the copper cladding on the alter in the Temple reminding the people of Korach's sin of disputing the Kahunah. A giant, round metal chandalier hangs from the center of the pyramidal roof. When the rising sun shines through the eastern windows in the morning it were as if the glory of G-d filled the room.

A copper-clad ark graces the front of the Ashkenazic shul in Mitzpe Ramon

We next made our way to the eerie that overlooks Ramon's Crater, a spectacular 650 feet below.

The eerie overlooking Ramon's Crater, 650 feet below

We were fortunate to happen onto a herd of about 20 Ibex kids and mature Ibex by the crater rim. I believe this was a mixed herd of kids, females, and males, an oddity since the males and females usually group separately, except during breeding season in the fall.

Ibex kids grazing on seemingly nothing

Shortly after, a group of yeshiva students arrived to feed the kids bread.

 Yeshiva boys feed the young Ibex

Bochrim feed the kids (double-click to watch full-frame)

As we walked along we saw some magnificent young Ibex.

A magnificent young male Ibex at the rim of Machtesh Ramon

Public displays of art are common in Israel. Here a male Ibex looks like he is part of his own 2001 Space Odyssey:

2010: A Space Odyssey in Mitzpe Ramon - an Ibex discovers tools

This Ibex looks like he has been injured, perhaps by a predator. Ibex use their horns for protection, but also for mating fights. It is rare for an Ibex to be injured in a mating fight, although their horns are heavy and fierce.

A male Ibex displaying the scar of an old wound

Pam, Uncle Rafi, Mark, and Donny with Ibex and Space Odyssey Rocks of Mitzpe Ramon

Herd of young Ibex by the crater rim at Mitzpe Ramon

Of course, eventually the young boys do what all young boys do, chase the Ibex and stampede the herd off.

Yeshiva bochers stampede the herd of young Ibex

Eventually we come 'round to the Chabad House in Mitzpe Ramon. Here Mark and Uncle Rafi try to make some semblance of a "770" sign, sitting in front of the Chabad House.

Mark and Uncle Rafi make the sign of "770" in front of Mitzpe Ramon's Chabad House

Finally it was time to say good-bye. Mark and Uncle Rafi kindly gave us a ride to Be'er Sheva, where we picked up a rental car for the next of our round of activities. Thanks Mark and Uncle Rafi. L'hitraot!

See you again soon, Mark!

   

The Ibex of Mitzpe Ramon

If there is one thing that is the hallmark of Mitzpe Ramon, it must be the Ibex. Ibex are a kind of mountain goat with long curving horns and an uncanny ability to climb steep walls, despite having hooves and not a single prehensile appendage anywhere in sight. There is a herd of about 40 that climb down the crater walls at night and climb back up to town at dawn to eat. They are drawn to the trees and foliage which they savor and the garbage and kiddy junk food which they beg from children and tourists. The foliage and trees are only here because of irrigation. Without it the land is hardscrabble rock and dust. The Ibex are such a notable part of the town that murals of them decorate store walls. Here they are shopping and enjoying a cup of coffee.

The young ones spend the better part of each day precariously perched on the crater walls. Seeing these animals scramble up and down the walls, one can't quite understand how they do it. Even while watching them it seems hard to credit their climbing skills, which seem to excel even those of a man with hands and feet for gripping.

Here is part of the herd of more mature animals, lying down in the early morning sunshine in the rock field that separates the crater from the city. They always strike the ground with their hooves before lying down (as seen here), the way a dog digs before lying down in the dirt. This raises a cloud of dust, but does nothing to displace the rocky earth where they are about to lie. I have no idea what such behavior means, in light of its seeming futility.

In the older animals, the horns curve back around their bodies interferring with head movement. This big guy is about 8 years old and is enjoying a meal of grass, supported by the local irrigation hoses, seen in the picture.

The Ibex are free to wander all over town, and their preferred path is walls and balustrades, showing an uncanny sense of poise and balance.

Here an older Ibex mounts a wall to reach his early morning meal of tree leaves and grass.

A very cool head, he calmly continues on his way.