National parks and nature reserves of Israel

National parks of Israel are declared historic sites or nature reserves, which are mostly operated and maintained by the National Nature and Parks Authority. As of 2005, Israel maintains more than 150 nature reserves that protect 2,500 species of indigenous wild plants, 20 species of fish, 400 species of birds and 70 species of mammals.

Some parks are located at archaeological sites such as Tel Megiddo, Beit She'an, Ashkelon and Kursi. Others, such as the Alexander stream, Mount Carmel National Park or Hurshat Tal focus on nature and the preservation of local flora and fauna. Several parks and nature reserves have camping options, such as tent grounds and bungalows, open to small groups and individual campers. Some of them are located in the Golan Heights and the West Bank.

In 2011, the most popular national parks were Yarkon National Park, Caesarea, Ein Gedi and Tel Dan.

During the 19th century, the region had a sparse population of between 275,000 and 475,000. Waves of immigration expanded local population needs. Forests were cut down to supply coal for heating, industry and the Turkish railway. The German Templers brought with them shotguns, quickly adopted by local peasants for hunting wildlife. The First World War was characterized by massive acquisition of firearms, and German officers were very active hunters. By the early 20th century, hunting threatened the extinction of crocodile, Arabian ostrich, roe deer, fallow deer, Syrian brown bear, and onager (wild ass). The Asiatic lion had been extinct in Palestine since around the Crusader period in the 10-13th centuries, while it survived in Syria and Arabia all until the 19th-20th century.Asiatic cheetah was last observed in 1959 and the Rabian leopard is currently acutely threatened by extinction.

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