The symbolic tombstones to the left were erected in memory of a range of mammals that were once common in Israel and are now extinct due to human intervention. The large mammals, such as the Syrian bear, lion, cheetah, pig, gazelle, fallow deer, and the oryx became extinct due to hunting. Today, under the Wildlife Protection Law, the hunting of most animals is prohibited, and some of them, such as the wild boar, have now become so numerous that they are crowding and overburdening their natural habitats. As a result, they invade agricultural areas and even residential neighborhoods. In recent years, an effort has been made to bring some of the endangered mammals back to nature. In several wildlife reserves, fallow deer and oryx are bred and raised, and then brought back to their natural habitats.

Small mammals defined as pests harmful to agriculture, such as mole rats, bats, and rodents, were killed by farmers and their populations shrunk considerably. The lower display window shows the small rodents that cause damage to agriculture, to the point of even destroying entire harvests of wheat fields. To combat these species, poison pellets were scattered in the fields, but in retrospect, it turned out that they also caused secondary poisoning to birds of prey.

The fruit bat was once considered harmful to agriculture, due to its fondness for eating fruit. Therefore, it was common to spray the caves where the bats lived. Today, it is known that they play an important role in pollinating and spreading seeds for fruit trees, and so sprays are no longer used against them.

The mongoose, like the one in the window, was once a threat to farmers because it would enter chicken coops and eat the birds. Today, however, chicken coops are more sophisticated and prevent their entry, and farmers even recognize their importance as eaters of snakes.

Look at the old, strange device resting on the right side of the drawer. This device was called a mole cannon, and it was used to fight moles, an underground rodent that eats roots and bulbs. They would place the device inside its den, and when a mole touched the handle, the cannon would be activated and the mole would be killed. You will probably be relieved to hear that this device is no longer in use today.