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Animals in the Bible

KABITA ROY

In February 2005, Israel released a set of four stamps and a souvenir sheet depicting some of the animals that are mentioned in the Bible. In the Bible animals are a source of poetic inspiration and a basis for the prophet's tales. The stamps series includes an endangered wolf species and other species that went extinct in Israel during the 20th century. These are the ostrich, the Nile crocodile, the brown bear and the wolf.

The ostrich grows to a height of 2.5 metres and its weight can reach 150 kg. Its wings are too small to carry its body weight. The bear is mostly vegetarian in diet eating fruit, seeds and honey. The crocodile is carnivorous and feeds on insects, fish, reptiles and mammals that it drags from the river bank. The wolf is a large mammal and has a long tail that reaches just over its heel.

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