Stories about wild animals keep circulating among people in the Jordan Valley. Wild Life Society Executive Director Imad al-Atrash said that in 1994 a leopard was seen in Ein Gedi near Jericho. He added the leopard roamed the area and reached the eastern mountains of Tubas. al-Atrash believes that there are about 2 to 3 leopards in the West Bank. Wild cats are historically a part of the landscape. According to him, sources from Deir Hijlah reported the appearance of a lion in 1630 near the Jordan River.

Residents in Jericho say that some wild animals can be seen wandering in thesurrounding mountainous area, where they live in caves and rocky crags during the day. At night, they go out in search of boars, deer and goats.Shepherd Mustafa Abu Amer says a wild animal attacked his flock in the middle of the day. However, he did not know exactly what kind of animal it was. “Surely it was not a hyena because hyenas do not appear during the day,” he added. “The animal crept toward the flock soundlessly. It must have been very close to the flock.”

Another shepherd reported that two hyenas attacked one of his cows while it was grazing near al-Maleh springs. He thought the hyenas managed to hold the cow because it was lean and small. The cow, he maintained, fell in a hole and could not resist.

Talk about wild animals in the Jordan Valley is not restricted to hyenas. There is also much talk about snakes. An eyewitness reported that he saw a 5-meter long snake with horns covered with feathers. Another reported the appearance of a snake that could swallow a sheep standing on its tail. As far-fetched as this sounds, it may not be so far from the truth. Two years ago, Palestinian and Israeli press reported the escape of a snake called Sara that is believed to have gone into Tubas and the Jordan Valley. According to the press, Sara was 5 meters long and weighed 30 kilos. It could easily coil around the body of its prey and swallow it up.Shepherds in Jericho area complain that their cattle and flocks are in constant danger of wild animal attacks. They tell various stories about wild animals straying near their farms. Many, however, say these are only fantasies resulting from fear and superstition, denying the existence of any wild animals in the area.

Abdel Rahman Qassem from Ein Hamamat has many stories to tell about hyenas and wolves: “Two years ago, some shepherds and I were grazing the flock in a place called Khilet al-Yad. It was afternoon and we were drinking tea and smoking. All of a sudden we spotted a wolf attacking a sheep.” He added, “That was the first time I saw a wolf. It was big and had huge teeth.”

Qassem believes that wolves come from a place called Jabaris in the Jordan Valley. Other stories proliferate. Qassem says a young wolf ate a donkey in his front yard. In another incident, a female hyena was giving birth in a nearby cave, the sounds of which scared his cattle. Qassem, taking no chances, has fortified his house to protect his family and his farm from wild animals.

Wild life experts said they could identify the animal that attacks flocks by examining wounds on their victim. Some wild animals attack goats from the belly and behind, while others attack the neck.The hyena is the most popular wild animal among people in the Jordan Valley. According to legend, hyenas frighten people and cause them mental distraction, luring people into their caves to be eaten. People believe the urine of the hyena has a special effect on their minds, its smell serving as an anesthetic. Hyenas are becoming more and more rare in the region, but people still weave all kinds of stories about them.Despite dwindling numbers, the hyena still has a special place in the Palestinian folklore. Its name has been given to different places in the West Bank, such as Wadi al-Dabe’ or the cave of the Dabe’, Khirbet al-Dabe’ and others. Palestinians often compare energetic and strong people to hyenas.

Hyenas are sometimes useful animals. They are vital to their habitat in that they clean it from the bodies of dead animals that might damage the environment. “Hyenas attack only when they are hungry, sick or scared.” said al-Atrash, adding, “Hyenas have their own peculiar behavior. They prefer to forage for prey at night and eat in place, unlike wolves that attack their prey anytime during the day.” In Palestine, the hyena is known as an animal that likes to feed on carrion.

It usually does not forage for dead bodies when it is hungry, but rather when it is ravenous. Generally, it attacks small living animals.“Whatever is said about the extraordinary strength of the hyena is mythical and superstitious. It is part of our cultural heritage that should not be given much attention.” al-Atrash added. Much talk has circulated about animals within the Jordan Valley because of its geographical features. al-Atrash explained “Here there are mountains covered with trees, intense agricultural areas where various plants and crops grow, and an abundance of caves and rocky cracks where wild animals live,” al-Atrash explained. In addition, the area is full of bedouins and shepherds and is distant from inhabited villages.

Despite the proliferation of myths about wild animals in the Jordan Valley, some say that until recently different kinds of wild animals have taken the Jordan valley as their home. The fox and the Egyptian wild cat, for example,have long been seen in the area, a curse for all those chickens, goats and sheep that fall to them, but a testament to the Jordan Valley’s wildlife diversity.