Zootails 50

Dr. Elizabeth Kaufman and Dr. Noa Eshkol
Veterinarian – Hospital/Quarantine

It’s not always easy for people to get to the zoo. So let’s say you want to take the zoo to the people. How would you move Noah’s Ark around Jerusalem, or any other city for that matter? You build a van that looks like Noah Ark on wheels. The “galgalnoah” or “zoomobile” was created in 1998 thanks to the kindness of Ellen Barnett of San Diego, Ca. It’s a one of a kind vehicle that travels the whole country, North to South to instill in the public a love of animals and emphasize the importance of nature conservation. The man who makes it happen is Yonaton Bor-HaLevi. In Yonaton you will find the perfect choice to be our modern-day Noah; a combination of professional knowledge, acting skills, enthusiasm and love for animals. He is a person who can talk to everybody no matter what their age, religious beliefs, political beliefs, be they children, elderly, people with special needs, rich or poor – Yonaton has a kind word, ready smile and a fountain of fun information. Yonaton’s schedule is very busy. By 7am he is at the Children’s Zoo to find out which animals are available to go out and if there is anything special he needs to know about them. The animals that he will take that day will be related to the topics of his workshops; the topic of the day might be reptiles, small rodents or other mammals. Then there is equipment to pack like photos, taxidermy samples and other teaching aids. Then Yonatan and the “galgalnoah” hit the road. He might go to a school, a kindergarten, a special needs institution or a home for the elderly. It could be as far away as Metulla in the north or Yerucham in the south or he might stay in Jerusalem. If he is in the city he might come back to the zoo for a break but then it’s time to hit the road again. This time it might be a birthday party in a park, an afternoon kindergarten or a community center. In the evening the zoomobile will make a third and last trip back to the zoo where the animals are returned to their homes for a good nights sleep. Yonatan has volunteers who work with him including Renee Smith who has been volunteering for the past six years and contributes greatly to the workshops. Yonatan is concerned about the increasingly technological internet-based world we live in and how that is disconnecting people from nature. He feels that the zoomobile creates an opportunity to try and connect the two worlds and increase people’s appreciation of our rapidly disappearing natural environment. When asked what some of his favorite moments were Yonatan tells the story of "Huldi" the rat, who escaped from her carrier and decided to join him in the driver's seat by sitting on his head. Yonatan, of course, didn't mind, but until he was able to pull over to return her to the carrier he was getting LOTS of strange looks. Then there was the Chanukah miracle story about "Max" the cockatiel who was caught by a stray cat during a park performance. Yonatan heard "Max" scream, left the show, jumped on the cat and rescued Max at the last minute. "Max" ended up with only scratches. There are many more stories to tell and if you would like to invite the zoomobile experience to your home - Call Yonaton at 0506478878. (Workshops are in Hebrew only).