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The word "safari" originates from the Swahili language spoken in Africa and means "journey". A visit to the Safari is a fascinating journey following the tracks of the African savannah animals, here in Ramat Gan. The animals in the Safari move freely in large herds, and like the tourists in Africa, you too will be the guests of nature and observe the characteristic behavior of each animal. The Safari has the largest collection of animals in the Middle East, with an estimated 1,200 animals from 126 different species. Inside the zoo you can find African and Asian elephants, giraffes as well as animals in serious danger of extinction, such as orangutans, gorillas, tigers and more. The Safari is dedicated to the issues of education and nature conservation, and it leads one of the largest projects in the world for the care and rehabilitation of wild animals. The Wildlife Hospital is the result of a fruitful collaboration between the Safari and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. Every year, more than 6,000 wild animals that have been injured in nature come to the hospital, and after treatment and rehabilitation, most of them are returned to nature. The Safari is a member of the World and European Association of Zoos and participates in the breeding programs of the European Association for Endangered Animals. It also takes part in Israeli projects, such as the program to breed eagles and return them to nature. The zebra is one of the hallmarks of the Safari. What is an African savannah without zebras? The herd of zebras in the Safari consists of about 120 animals, and according to the data on the website that consolidates zoological collections of over 1300 zoos in the world, this is the largest herd in zoos. The herd is divided into several harems which are controlled by one male. The young and inferior males are grouped in a herd of expectant bachelors. Because of the size of the herd, it is mostly managed as a herd, and it is not possible to track most of the zebras individually. Recently, the Safari team began photographing the foals when just born, on both sides of their bodies, to identify them by their stripe pattern, which is known to be unique to each zebra, just like our fingerprints. All the Philatelic items which have been Issue September 2024
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