About the Zoo & Wildlife

Carmel Hai-Bar Nature Reserve is a 1,500-acre (610 ha) breeding and acclimation center administered by the Israel Nature Reserves and National Parks Authority, situated in the Carmel mountains in northwestern Israel, within the larger Mount Carmel National Park. The Carmel Hai-Bar is the Mediterranean climate counterpart of the Yotvata Hai-Bar Nature Reserve which operates in the desert. The University of Haifa is located next to the entrance to the park. Endangered and locally extinct animals (which formerly lived in Israel) are bred here for possible reintroduction to the Mediterranean forest of northern Israel. Some of the species bred here are: Griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus) Persian fallow deer (Dama mesopotamica) Mountain gazelle (Gazella gazella gazella) Roe deer (Capreolus capreolus coxi) White-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) Fire salamander (Salamandra infraimmaculata) Wild goat (Capra aegagrus) Wild sheep (Ovis orientalis) Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus) Persian fallow deer, griffon vultures, Egyptian vultures, and roe deer have been successfully reintroduced into the wild from this facility. Formerly extinct in Israel, the Persian fallow deer now numbers approximately 300 in the wild. Research shows that Egyptian vultures bred in the Hai Bar reserve and released into the wild have similar survival rates to those born in the wild.