Whenever animals find themselves in life-threatening situations, they often simply have to find their own way out. Furthermore, because helping can sometimes cause more damage, humans who encounter injured animals in the wild are frequently advised to let nature take its course.
However, when a backpacker came across a mother ibex and her young stranded in Israel’s Nahal Paran riverbed, he knew that he was the animals’ only hope for survival.
It wasn’t going to be easy to rescue the terrified ibexes out of the rocky riverbed, but the man knew he had to at least try…
Curiosity can lead animals into precarious situations that require some human assistance. Still, it’s sometimes a better idea to simply let the animals figure it out on their own, since interfering can lead to more problems. The animal doesn’t know you’re there to help, after all. However, when a backpacker came across two terrified ibexes that were stranded in a dry riverbed in Israel, he realized he had no choice but to intervene.
It was a brutally hot afternoon, and the lone backpacker was making a trek through Israel’s Nahal Paran riverbed, which was completely dry thanks to a heat wave. The man heard a commotion up ahead, and when he went to investigate, he found two ibexes looking up at him from down below. They were hopelessly trapped.
The backpacker’s heart broke as he stared at the animals from high above. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do to help. He didn’t have the proper equipment to get the creatures out. But, he did have a cell phone, so he made a phone call as a last-ditch effort to save the poor animals…
The man immediately contacted Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority and explained the dire situation. They asked him if either of the ibexes appeared to be injured. He told them one of the animals was sitting on the rocks and looked too afraid to move. It could have been because she was in pain, but he couldn’t be sure.
The backpacker’s message quickly reached Harel Ben-Shahar, the director of the Nature and Parks Authority in that particular region of Israel. Both he and a man named Moran Bakish hopped into a car and ventured toward the riverbed.
While the men were driving, they contacted Yuval Sarat, a volunteer supervisor of the Israel Nature and National Parks Protection Authority, and asked him to meet them at the riverbed since he lived nearby and could get there quickly. Right away, Yuval rushed to the location.
In order to reach the riverbed, the three men each had to climb through steep canyons and climb cliff. Finally, they arrived at the scene. Harel cautiously climbed down into the riverbed in an attempt to wrangle the ibexes. But, as soon as he reached the bottom, both of the frightened animals instinctively darted away from him.
Fortunately, Harel managed to get a hold of the younger one. It took several minutes of chasing, but eventually the animal tired and Harel was able to make his move. Next came the first rescue attempt…
The men rigged a harness for the youngster, and they slowly lifted her up out of the riverbed. It took both Yuval and Moran to lift her, but eventually they pulled her over the edge to safety. Now, it was time to rescue her mama!
It took much longer for the mother ibex to calm down. These animals rarely had any human contact, so she was naturally panicked when the large man approached her. Besides, her baby had just been taken from her! But Harel wouldn’t give up until she was out of the riverbed and safe. Unfortunately, there was a problem…
From the way the she was struggling to walk, Harel suspected one of the mother ibex’s legs had shattered when she fell into the rocky crevice. She was in dire need of medical attention. Thankfully, they eventually were able to capture her and lift her out of the riverbed.
The men carefully wrapped coats around both of the animals to calm them as they carefully carried them toward safety. But they still had a long trek back to their vehicles. Hopefully, the ibexes would survive the journey back.
As soon as the men had climbed out of the riverbed, they hoisted the scared animals on their shoulders and began the return journey. They navigated through waterfalls and steep cliffs, but they made sure the ibexes were secure and safe the entire time.
It was an exhausting four-hour process. Luckily, the ibexes remained calm on the walk, but the mother still needed medical attention for her leg. After reaching their cars, the rescuers brought both the animals to the Bar Hai Bar Hospital of the Nature and Parks Authority, where veterinarians were eagerly waiting.
After a thorough medical examination, the vets determined the mother ibex’s leg was broken in several places, and she suffered severe nerve damage in another. Her baby, meanwhile, seemed to be in decent health overall, but sadly, tragedy struck. The morning after the animals arrived, she passed away—most likely due to shock and severe dehydration. The mother was still under examination, but she was expected to live. Yuval, Moran, and Harel did everything they could to help, and even though the youngster died, the mother still owed her life to their hard work.
It’s unfortunate that the baby ibex didn’t survive the ordeal, but at least her mother lived. Without brave people like Yuval, Moran, and Harel, there would be one less precious life in the world today.
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