“This is not a zoo!” Moran Levy, a digital coordinator at Midbarium Desert Animal Park, tells ISRAEL21c at the start of our tour. 

That message is conveyed multiple times during our journey around the park in Beersheva, 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Gaza. 

Redefining zoos

Midbarium is indeed not a conventional zoo, but a one-of-a-kind interactive animal park. 

Most of the 100 animals living in Midbarium are rescues that cannot be returned to nature, brought to the park from other animal facilities across Israel, as well as from other parts of the world. 

“We have a clinic here that treats animals, like a transit station. If needed, we transfer them for further treatment, or we keep them here. If it’s possible to release them into the wild, we also do that,” explains Levy. 

There are, for instance, pelicans with irreparably damaged wings, a hippo that was bullied by other hippos, and white lions that had no chance of surviving in the wild. Most of the species at the Midbarium are desert-adapted (midbar is Hebrew for “desert”). 

Each species lives in a habitat like its native one. The four main habitats at the park — Canyon, Arava (grassland plains), Oasis and Savanna — are connected via pathways. 

Each enclosure is massive, with very few animals, allowing them to roam freely and without physical space restrictions. “The animals have vast, very open areas all to themselves,” says Levy. 

The park is also ecological and attracts wild animals from outside Midbarium, such as ducks and geese. “They can go wherever they want, but they choose to come here; they have bodies of water and food,” she says, referring to the large pond in the middle of the park. 

Interactive

The park is equipped with 15 interactive “experiences” designed primarily for children, which teach them “to walk in the shoes” of animals. 

The motion-capture technology allows you to hunt like a crocodile, imitate the running pattern of a zebra, or fly — on a ventilated net — like an eagle, which I can tell you is pretty cool, having tried it personally.  

“There is a very strong emphasis on accessibility so that special-needs populations can enjoy these [interactive installations] as well,” notes Levy. 

The giraffe enclosure has an elevator that takes you to the approximate height of the top of the animal’s head. As you are lifted, an automated voice over the speaker inside the elevator tells you non-stop facts about giraffes. 

The baboon enclosure alone will make you feel like you’ve gotten your money’s worth. Not only does the interactive game entail literally making monkey faces to imitate fear, happiness or rage of a baboon, but the animals themselves are fascinating.

“There is one male ruler here, and he is basically the one who decides everything; the one who mates with the females, brings up the children and decides what and when the rest of the ‘harem’ eats,” says Michal, a guide at the park. 

Michal adds there is another male baboon in the pack that will eventually grow tired of the ruler and challenge him. These instances sometimes lead to deadly fights.

Oh, and there is also a petting area full of domestic goats.

Rough start

The 37-acre animal park replaced the old Negev Zoo that closed in October 2022. 

Midbarium’s grand opening was scheduled for November 2023, but the October 7 attacks and the subsequent war put a dent in those plans. 

The $60 million park remained closed for nearly a year, while the severely understaffed team cared for and fed the animals under non-stop threat of rocket fire and air-raid sirens. 

“It also had a big impact on bringing in animals [from overseas] because there were no flights, no ships, nothing; we were in the midst of a real crisis,” says Levy.

She adds that even though the park has stayed open consistently for the past few months, there is always a fear the war will restart with the same intensity as before.

“We don’t know what will happen tomorrow,” Levy notes. 

Midbarium is open to the public daily, including Saturdays, between 9am and 4:30pm; on Fridays until 2pm. During summer months, the park offers evening and night tours upon request. Ticket prices range between free admission and 75 shekels (about $20). 

For more information, or to purchase tickets, click here.