Political Geographic Borders Affect Animal Life in the Middle East

It has long been claimed borders are merely lines on a map. The argument is based on the assumption humans can only do so much because the Earth and its life system is so vast. However, unlike the humorous spoof Middle East border article where borders are portrayed as mere illusions, Middle East borders have an affect on how the same animal species evolve and act.

According to a report by the University of Haifa-Oranim’ (Hat tip: Geo Lounge) different agricultural practices by Jordan and Israel have affected ants, gerbils, and lizards. For instance, Israeli wild gerbils tend to be more cautious than Jordanian ones. This is probably due to the fact Israeli agriculture has better rodent controls.

While the report does not say, I am pretty sure that Syrian gerbils tend to be paranoid while Lebanese gerbils quickly fall into small cliques that attack each other.