Pini's Room, located at the children's petting zoo, is a special place dedicated to small animals, especially the systems of animals called "arthropods."

The room was dedicated by a Pinchas (Pini) Amitai, a lover of nature and people. He was a recipient of the Worthy Citizen of Jerusalem title and was an integral part of the zoo volunteers and staff over many years. The room continues to develop and grow, thanks to the dedicated children's zoo team.

Pinchas Amitai was born in 1928 in Jerusalem's Old City. Upon completing his studies, he joined nature classes and volunteered at Shulov's Petting Zoo, the original Biblical Zoo. Upon completing his military service, Pini began working at the Zoological Department of the Hebrew University and led courses on spiders. Self-taught, he discovered new species in science, and several species were named after him. He was the first in the world to research and discover the mating process of scorpions. For many years, he lectured at various locations on the topics of zoology and reptiles. Over the years, he published over 200 academic articles and books.

In 2022, two additional animals were named after him: Buthacus Amitai (a species of scorpion), and Amitai wolf spider (a desert/sand spider). The vast knowledge that Pini amassed and the materials he collected are still used today in producing scientific discoveries. We estimate that there are still hundreds of species still to be classified.

Come see up close, the stick bugs, the tarantula, the roaches, the crickets, and more!

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