Employees of Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center were surprised to find a not often seen wild animal in the medical complex, later confirmed to be a marten. Nature and Parks Authority inspectors were called to the scene and retrieved the rare animal to a nature reserve.
Hospital workers encountered the furry visitor in the institution's courtyard. Angela Metayev, Hadassah Medical Center’s head of environmental protection, was called and quickly made contact with a Nature and Parks Authority inspector after the mysterious and rare animal was transferred to her care.
"The marten was released safely in the Nahal Sorek Nature Reserve. I was delighted to see an animal that’s rarely seen in Israel. It quickly climbed a tree, and I managed to document it just before it disappeared."
Dotan Rotem, a Nature and Parks Authority ecologist, said, "The marten is a type of small nocturnal mammal from the Procaviidae family. There’s one species of this animal living in Israel, the beech marten. It is active at night and has fur in chestnut brown with a white 'collar' on its chest, making it very difficult to see in daylight."
"The marten lives in forested areas throughout Israel’s Mediterranean region," he said. "It’s skilled at climbing trees and feeds on eggs and chicks, as well as on insects and rodents. The marten marks its unique scent on rocks, allowing its presence to be identified in the area."