The bottle cap being extracted
(Video: Nature and Parks Authority)
The life of a long-legged buzzard, which had a plastic bottle cap stuck in its throat, was miraculously saved after it landed near a Nature and Parks Authority ranger at the Wadi Prat Nature Reserve, a natural oasis in the desert about 20 minutes outside of Jerusalem . The ranger noticed the bird was in distress and managed to remove the bottle cap just in time.
"During a patrol in the reserve, a long-legged buzzard landed near me in the Beit Yael area of Nahal Prat. After examining it, I saw that a plastic bottle cap was stuck in its throat. We managed to remove the cap. We gave it some water because it seemed dehydrated. After a while, we saw that it was feeling better, and released it back into the wild," Wadi Prat Nature Reserve ranger Itamar Talker recalled.
2 View gallery
The long-legged buzzard after treatment
(Photo: Mahmoud Abu Ralliya, Nature and Parks Authority)
The Nature and Parks Authority works to educate hikers not to feed wildlife and to clean up the areas they visit.
"There are intentionally no trash bins in most nature reserves. We urge the public to take a trash bag with them and collect their waste," Nature and Parks Authority Information Division Director Mazi Magnaji Moskowitz said.
"Don’t gather trash and leave it in one place because as soon as night falls, wild animals will try and get it and hurt themselves. This food is unnatural for them, and they may also encounter cans, plastic bags and other metal waste that can cause them a painful death," she added.
The Nature and Parks Authority added that littering in nature causes severe damage to wildlife and the ecosystem. Most of the waste left in nature is non-biodegradable, polluting the soil and water and harming the ecosystem and wildlife.
2 View gallery
The bottle cap removed from the avian's throat
(Photo: Itamar Talker, Nature and Parks Authority)
Ein Prat is located in the western part of Wadi Prat Nature Reserve. The reserve was established in 1988 to protect Nahal Prat's banks and channels and those of its tributary, Nahal Mikhmas.
It spans 30 km (18 miles) and covers 28,050 dunams. The western end of the reserve, near Geva Binyamin, rises about 600 meters above sea level, while the eastern end, near Jericho, is about 200 meters below sea level.
Nahal Prat is a wildlife corridor that serves as an important transition zone between the Mediterranean region and the desert. This transition is reflected in the diverse flora and fauna found in the reserve. Nahal Prat is known for its year-round flowing water. The water flow and surrounding vegetation create a unique habitat in the desert.
Nahal Prat's water and vegetation attract many animals, including stream-dwelling fish like the long-finned loach, stream crabs and invertebrates. The steam's cliffs and surroundings are home to songbirds and birds of prey, alongside rock hyraxes, gazelles, foxes, porcupines and caracals.