Campers in Israel warned after series of wolf attacks

Israeli authorities are warning families with young children to take extra care after a series of wolf attacks on campers in the Judean desert.

Ten incidents involving wolf bites were reported over the summer around the historic site of Masada and the popular spring at Ein Gedi. A number of the incidents involved young children, leading to fears that an Arabian wolf or wolves may be exhibiting predatory behaviour.

The incidents at campsites and attractions began in May, when a wolf entered the tent of a family holidaying near Masada. It later returned to bite one of the family’s young children a few steps from her tent.

The attacks continued over the summer with the two most recent incidents occurring last weekend, when three children were bitten in two separate attacks near Ein Gedi.

Local rangers have been accused of not doing enough to find and trap the animal, or animals, involved – a charge denied by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.

Shilhav Ben David, whose daughter was bitten in the first reported incident, said the wolf had entered the family’s tent before being chased off, only to return and attack her child a few hours later. She told Haaretz she only became aware the wolf had returned when she saw it on top of her child.

“I saw him move his nose over her,” she said. “I ran and grabbed her and saw blood and holes from fangs in her lower back. It wasn’t that he tried to attack her, he really tried to grab her and take her away.”

Dr Haim Berger, who did his doctoral research on wolf behaviour and guides visitors to see wild animals in the desert, told the Guardian his own family had also encountered a wolf at a campsite near Masada without being aware there had been attacks.

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“I had no idea there had been a problem because it had not been publicised,” Berger said. “In the middle of the night one of my girls woke me and said there is a wolf here. I didn’t know about recent attacks even though the park ranger had come round the the day before. Now they are warning people.”

Before this summer, the last wolf attack reported occurred in 2008, Berger said. He believes that the animals have become increasingly habituated to humans attracted by litter bins and other food around the campsites. Unlike in countries such as the United States and Canada, there is little awareness among campers in Israel of how to holiday safely around wild animals.

“I’ve been warning about the risk of this for almost 15 years – the risk of wolves getting gradually more used to humans and trying to convince people that we need to keep a greater distance,” said Berger.

Berger said no recent research had been conducted into the wolves in Judean desert. But he believes the spate of attacks probably involves a single individual or individuals from a pack of about 20 wolves, which would usually hunt over a far wider area.

The number of younger children involved in the attacks has led Berger to believe the wolves are exhibiting predatory behaviour.

“We need to educate people in behaviour that avoids attracting animals to campsites and also work to discourage wolves from coming near people,” he said.

“It is a change in behaviour that happened because of people,” said Gilad Gabay, southern region director of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, discussing the attacks.

“People need to understand that they are in the heart of nature and that every [time a wolf feeds on litter] that has significance. We won’t rest until we stop this, but we need the cooperation of the public.”