The wildlife of Israel includes the flora and fauna of Israel, which is extremely diverse due to the country's location between the temperate and the tropical zones, bordering the Mediterranean Sea in the west and the desert in the east. Species such as the Syrian brown bear and the Arabian ostrich have become extinct in Israel because of their loss of habitat. As of May 2007, 190 nature reserves have been established in Israel.
Fauna
Mammals
Israel contains a variety of mammals due to its geographical and climatic diversity. For many of the mammals, Israel is the border of their territory. The territories of species which originate in the Palearctic generally stop at the deserts and those who originate from the African deserts usually stop at the Mediterranean coasts. Most of the mammals in Israel are of a Palearctic origin and about a tenth of the mammals are endemic to its general area. The land of Israel once contained a greater variety of mammals, however in recent times many mammals such as the European water vole, the Asiatic cheetah and the Caucasian squirrel went locally extinct. The largest predator in Israel was the Arabian leopard which is now also believed to be locally extinct due to the lack of sightings since 2011. In the modern age many mammal populations such as the sand cat are in a high risk of extinction. In total there are 57 species of mammals which are endangered (as of 2002) out of the total 104 species. There are 33 species of bats in Israel (as of 2002), the most species out of the ten mammalian orders currently in Israel, most of which are insect-eaters. Researchers from Tel Aviv University found 12 species of bat living in old army outposts in the Jordan Valley. Various animal species have become extinct due to unchecked hunting under Ottoman rule and to a lesser extent under British Mandate rule, due to a non-enforcement of hunting laws. By the early 20th century, the white oryx, Syrian brown bear, Asiatic lion, red deer, Asiatic cheetah, and Syrian wild ass had become extinct in the region. Modern hunting laws prohibit all hunting of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, except those considered pests and specific animals in hunting seasons. However the packs of feral dogs that are taking over the countryside are an increasing threat to wildlife and domesticated animals. Rapid urbanization as well as overforestation (planting many dense eucalyptus and pine forests) have caused the destruction of many natural habitats in modern times. One of the most famous examples of habitats destroyed is the drying of swamps including the Hula lake which caused the local extinction of the European water vole and jungle cat. An ancient wave of urbanization during the Iron Age resulted in the local extinction of the aurochs, bubal hartebeest, and hippopotamus. Another distinguished cause of endangerment is the past use of DDT and other chemicals which has hurt all of the birds of prey populations as well as the bat population (mainly Microchiroptera) which were also killed by human made lighting in the caves due to the suspicion that fruit-eating bats were harming local crops. Some mammals that have gone locally extinct are being reintroduced, such as the Persian fallow deer and the roe deer. The extinct narrow-nosed rhinoceros may have survived in Israel as recently as 15,000 years ago, which if correct would make it the youngest known record of the species.
Reptiles
Israel has roughly 100 species of reptiles, of which almost a third live in its northern areas. The extinction rate among reptiles has been relatively low here; reptiles that became locally extinct in the region around the beginning of the 20th century include the Nile crocodile, European pond turtle, Levant viper, and Nile monitor.
Amphibians
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