For once in discussions on the Middle East, ‘rats’ actually refer to rodents, or more specifically, hamsters and similar species.
A new study finds Israeli rats are more cautious than their Jordanian cohorts. Even though rats can freely cross the border between Israel and Jordan (humans are limited to three border crossings and Israelis can actually use only two those), there is a distinct difference between the two nation’s rodents. The cause- people and, more specifically agriculture, according to the researchers. One of the researchers said:
“The boundary is indeed a virtual marking that only appears on the map and is not capable of keeping these species from crossing the border between Israel and Jordan; but the line does stop humans from crossing it and thereby contains their different impact on nature.”
Different agricultural techniques in the two countries (predominantly controlled farming in Israel and nomadic agriculture in Jordan) leads to higher rates of predatory animals in Israeli fields. Same goes for hunting, where a certain bird is protected in Israel and is hunted in Jordan, therefore varying the situation for rodents because the bird breaks up soil and enables burrowing. An article on the study explains it:
“According to the researchers, the differences between Israel and Jordan are primarily in the higher level of agriculture and the higher number of agricultural farms in Israel as opposed to Jordan’s agriculture that is primarily based on nomadic shepherding and traditional farming. The agricultural fields on the Israeli side of the border not only create a gulf between habitats and thereby cause an increase in the number of species in the region, but they also hail one of the most problematic of intruders in the world: the red fox. On the Jordanian side, the red fox is far less common, so that Jordanian gerbils can allow themselves to be more carefree. The higher reproduction rate of ant lions on Israel’s side is also related to the presence of another animal: the Dorcas gazelle. This gazelle serves as an “environmental engineer” of a sort, as it breaks the earth’s dry surface and enables ant lions to dig their funnels. The Dorcas gazelle is a protected animal in Israel, while hunting it in Jordan is permitted and compromises the presence of the Jordanian ant lions’ soil engineers.”
Photo from Discovery.