Why did the megafauna that once existed in the project area go extinct?

The Negev was once habitat for a mega-fauna including lions, cheetah, leopard, large antelopes, ostrich and wild donkey. There are a variety of reasons why these animal species ultimately went extinct…

The climate got drier and did not support large animals anymore.

The Negev climate was subject to significant variations in precipitation and temperature during the Millennia. But climate always offered sufficient resources for large mammals and predators. The Negev was home to lions and other large mammals in historical times when climate was very similar to today’s. Indeed recently released populations of wild donkey and Oryx in the Southern Negev have succeeded well, indicating that even in hyper-arid climates adequate resources for large mammals are available.

Ecosystem degradation by early farmers destroyed the basis for survival of large wildlife

Widespread farming and dense human populations in the Northern Negev are the most likely explanation for the disappearance of all but minor pockets of wildlife in the Negev. The widespread ecosystem degradation, loss of all of the Negev’s trees , dramatically reduced biological productivity and competition from grazing livestock all contributed to destroying the basis for survival for wild animals. In addition, herders led a constant war against all predators threatening their livestock, trapping, hunting and killing all predators they were able to. Both degradation and hunting with certainty contributed to a dramatic reduction in wildlife density in the Negev, with remaining concentrations of wild animals pushed into the most remote and inaccessible areas away from population centers. This is the main reason why the Hura area is almost void of large animals, and only consequent large scale restoration efforts will allow restoring the original megafauna to the Negev.

Large animals and predators were hunted to extinction by farmers and noblemen

As stated before, habitat loss due to intensive farming and dense populations likely pushed large wildlife populations out of the Northern Negev already thousands of years ago. However, in the less accessible mountain and desert regions, large wildlife and predators seem to have survived into the Middle Ages and the recent past. Those were not likely in direct conflict, but rather the target of noblemen seeking the glory of killing a large and dangerous predator or a fast, elusive Oryx. Thus the last Lion was apparently killed in the late Middle Ages, the last Cheetah was seen in the Arawa valley some 60 years ago, and the few last leopards hiding in the Negev Mountains may have gone extinct recently, though wolves, hyenas and significant Ibex, gazelle and hyrax populations still make the hyper-arid Negev areas major hotspots of animal biodiversity.

Can the original Negev megafauna be restored?

Whether the original Negev Megafauna can be returned to the once rich and diverse ecosystem, even in the densely populated Central Negev, will strongly depend on adequate restoration measures taken, though the Arabian Lion is definitely extinct and the Arabian leopard and cheetah are almost extinct.

Recently released populations of wild ass and Oryx in the Southern Negev, and growing Ibex populations indicate that even the hyper-arid regions of the Negev are capable of supporting significant concentrations of wildlife together with ongoing tourism, farming and military exploitation. Restored diverse natural landscapes interspersed with intensively exploited farming operations can provide the necessary migration corridors and hiding places necessary to allow for the return of even large wildlife also in the Northern Negev.

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