Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin (ISSN 0178 – 6288) . Number 91, July 2009, pp. 1-31. | Page 9

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crested porcupine (Hystrix indica), Palestine's largest rodent; to the exotic sounding
Palestine short-tailed bandicoot rat (Nesokia indica bacheri), Cairo spiny mouse (Acomys
cahirinus), the Palestine golden spiny mouse (Acomys russatus harrisoni Atallah, 1970),
the Gaza or Palestine house mouse (Mus musculus gazaensis Khalaf, 2007), desert jerboas
like the Palestine or Jaffa lesser jerboa (Jaculus jaculus schlueteri), gerbils, jirds like the
Palestine or Naqab (Negev) jird (Meriones sacramenti), the Palestine fat sand rat
(Psammomys obesus terraesanctae), to the more mundane sounding brown rats (Rattus
norvegicus), Palestine or Jaffa mole rat (Spalax microphthalmus ehrenbergi), dormice,
Syrian grey hamsters (Cricetulus migratorius cinerascens), Syrian or golden hamsters
(Mesocricetus auratus), the Günther's social vole (Microtus socialis guentheri), the Palestine
lesser white-toothed shrew (Crocidura suaveolens portali) and the nutria or coypu
(Myocastor coypus).

The Gaza or Palestine House Mouse (Mus musculus gazaensis Khalaf, 2007).
www.geocities.com/jaffacity/mus_musculus_gazaensis_khalaf_2007_gaza_palestine_h
ouse_mouse.jpg
In all, there are 116 different species of Mammals in Palestine, compared with 140 in the
whole of Europe, which is 300 times larger. This is an impressive figure for a small
country, but the numbers of animals within each species is shrinking.
Since the 1960s, the Israeli Nature Reserves Authority has been reintroducing
populations of animals which were native to the area in biblical times, under a program
known as Hai-Bar. Breeding centers for Mediterranean animals (in the Carmel) and
desert animals (at Yotvata in the Wadi Araba) have been set up, and five species
selected for the first stage: ostriches, roe deer, Asiatic wild asses (Equus hemionus),
Gazelle – Number 91 – July 2009