What are your main roles?
My main roles as a ranger in the Lower Galilee, which is in Israel’s north are the enforcement against poaching and preventing poaching, and damage by animals to agriculture; firefighting; maintaining protection of natural values; monitoring; and overseeing visitors in nature reserves, dealing with invasive and breakout species, maintenance and promotion and implementation of projects in nature reserves.
What is your background?
High school graduate, full matriculation with a major in geography; three years’ military service in a combat unit and a year and a half in the career army; B.A., general studies.
How long have you been a ranger?
I’ve been working at the Israel Nature and Parks Authority since 2003. I worked for seven years in the south, in Israel’s desert region and the rest of the time in the north.
What do you like best about your work?
The thing I like best is the variety of subjects that I deal with and my work with colleagues who teach me and develop me every day anew. I constantly challenge myself by studying other fields that bring me to life and teach me a lot.
What is the craziest/most dangerous/funniest thing that you ever experienced at work?
There are endless interesting and crazy stories, but there are two that are a bit unusual:
Late one night, during regular field inspection, I saw a suspicious vehicle driving in a nature reserve. I came up close, driving dark, and I spotted two poachers. I was in an area without cellphone reception and I couldn’t call for help. I drove in their direction and just as I turned on my headlights they fled, but a short time later I heard shots in my direction. A front tire on my car was hit with a bullet. After the incident I discovered there was another hit in the back of the vehicle. In the field I discovered a gazelle they had poached that had been thrown out of their vehicle as they fled. A few months later, at 3 A.M. my car was set on fire outside my house and was completely burned. There may be a connection between the two incidents but unfortunately the Israel Police have been unable to solve the case to this day.
What is your most unforgettable moment?
It’s hard to point out one specific moment, but when I look back in time I realize that I’ve brought about changes and scored many successes in nature protection along the way/
Why is your work important to you?
From my point of view, being a ranger is a way of life. The ability to impact nature protection and the future of the ranger profession is very significant.