Animals in Gaza Strip

The Gaza Strip is 25 miles long and four to seven miles wide. It is about equal in size to the Bronx, New York and contains almost as many animals as the famous Bronx Zoo.

The Gaza Strip is a unique area. It is a desert that borders an ocean, supplying it with a fascinating eco-system, capable of sustaining many different types of animals. Surprisingly, for a desert region, the Gaza Strip has a temperate climate, which means it rarely gets extremely hot or extremely cold. The summers are usually hot and dry and the Gaza Strip often experiences drought during the summers.

Animals that are native to the Gaza Strip include deer, antelope, wild sheep, and wild boar. These animals usually wander through uninhabited areas of the Gaza Strip searching out morsels of tender grass that shoot up each morning after the dew has fallen. Natural predators of these animals are also found in the Gaza Strip. The predatory animals include fox, jackals, weasels, wolves, and hyena. Although attacks on humans are rare, there have been reports of hyenas and jackals attempting to attack small toddlers in a few of the tent cities that occupy the Gaza Strip.

Near the beach area of the Gaza Strip, there are likely to be various sea creatures that wash up from the Mediterranean Sea, including various fish, porpoises, jelly fish, shrimp, and clams. Sea gulls fly overhead crying out and pelicans can also be spotted swooping down into the sea to feed.

Pit vipers are found throughout the Gaza Strip and one must check carefully under rocks before sitting on them. Scorpions are also common in the desert region of the Gaza Strip and households do battle with various lizards that may come into the homes. Although they are not native to the Gaza Strip, swarms of locusts have been known to invade.

Note: Here are the links used to verify animals that can be found in the Gaza Strip. This author also went on a mission trip eight years ago to the Gaza Strip, Palestine, and Israel and observed many of these animals along with the shepherds that wandered through Gaza. Due to the war many of the animals are dying.

Due to the long lasting war between the nations of Palestine and Israel, the animals once commonly found throughout Gaza are now considered endangered. Between land minds, tent cities, border skirmishes, and pollution, the animals are dying every day. In 2004, there were hundreds of animals freely roaming the Gaza Strip. Sea creatures were easily found and seen on the beach. Now, due to the devastation of war, Palestine estimates there may be as few as 14 of each animal left on the Gaza Strip.