Gazelle Races Past Partridge Family in Jerusalem Park Crossing Caught on Camera

Jerusalem’s Gazelle Valley Park, a city-owned urban nature park managed by the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, is currently full of rock partridge chicks. On Sunday, the park’s gazelle herd manager, Efrat Yagur, captured a dramatic moment on surveillance cameras used for monitoring and research at the site.

The footage shows a mother partridge and 10 of her chicks trying to cross one of the valley’s paths when a gazelle suddenly runs through at high speed, blocking their intended route. The mother and chicks immediately turned back, waited for the gazelle to pass, and only crossed safely after checking that the way was clear.

Ami Balaban, who heads urban nature at the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel and studies wildlife behavior, said, “The partridge is the original Israeli chicken.” He explained that at the beginning of summer, the chicks stay with the female as they move along the valley paths in search of seeds and small insects.

Balaban added that the chicks face many dangers in grass, bushes and above them, including hungry snakes, birds of prey and even feral house cats. This year, he said, the tall grass provides better cover and improves their chances of survival, but it also limits their field of view and makes it harder to cross the gazelle trails. In the northern part of the valley, he said, a large bachelor group of restless young gazelles keeps running back and forth, turning the park’s paths into a real crossing challenge.