An emotional moment: Watch Shoshana the Chameleon take her first steps back into nature, after her successful rehab at the Hula Wildlife Veterinary Clinic!
Video: Curtesy of the Hula Lake Wildlife Veterinary Clinic
Meet Shoshana, the Mediterranean chameleon given a new lease on life after successful treatment at the Hula Lake Wildlife Veterinary Clinic.
Prior her arrival at the clinic, Shoshana had a rough start in life – locals found her hanging by her tail from a tree branch in Kiryat Shmona, in the dead of winter.
“During the winter, chameleons go into hibernation”, explained Dr. Rona Nadler Valency, the vet who treated Shoshana. “Apparently, someone or something - like a crow or cat - knocked her off her perch so that she was hanging by her tail, exposing her to further winter damage and endangering her life.” Concerned about her safety, the good Samaritans who found her contacted the Nature and Parks Authority hotline.
That was how the chameleon, who became affectionately known as ‘Shoshana’ by the treating veterinary staff, arrived at the Wildlife Veterinary Clinic at Hula Lake Park. The clinic, which is part of the park’s research center, was established by KKL-JNF in collaboration with the Tel Hai Academic College, with the support of friends of JNF in the USA.
The clinic, which has only been operating since December 2019, has already had several success stories with rehabilitating local wildlife, with Shoshana being just one of its satisfied customers.
The wildlife clinic currently operates from an onsite caravan, but don’t let its humble headquarters fool you. The clinic’s supporters in the USA have ensured that it is equipped with everything it needs to treat local birds, mammals and reptiles, including three large acclimatization cages for gradually reintroducing birds of prey into the wild after rehabilitation.
For more than 50 days, the veterinary staff treated Shoshana – feeding her, bathing her (chameleons absorb fluids through the skin), and even providing her with physical therapy on the nearby tree branches!
As the weather began to heat up, Shoshana was released, healthy and strong, back into her natural habitat!
We wish her a long and healthy life!