Dubai Zoo is believed to be the oldest zoo in the Arabian Gulf. Built by Otto J. Bulart and located in Jumeirah, the zoo was once considered a landmark that indicated the end of Dubai city. With the exponential growth of Dubai city over the last few years, Dubai Zoo now lies centrally located and easily accessible from all parts of Dubai.
There are about 180 species of mammals, birds, reptiles and fish within the zoo including giraffes, flamingos, gazelles, gorillas and different varieties of lizards. Located on a 2 hectare plot and built several decades ago, the zoo now appears crowded and in some places even over crowded. May be it is now time to move on and re-locate the zoo to a more spacious locaton.
The zoo continues to attract residents in huge numbers and is also a popular spot on a tourist's itenerary. The wide species of animals housed at the zoo also provide the local kids with an opportunity to translate pictures from their school books into something real and is a good learning experience.
2 comments:
A few years ago I was teaching primary in Dubai. We had spent a few lessons talking about the "big cats", so their 7 year old minds were active with stories of lions and tigers. One of my students, a little boy who lived near Safa park, came in to tell me he had seen a leopard on the wall outside of his villa. I tried to clarify, thinking it was a feral cat, but he insisted it was not. The next day another student brought in a news article about the leopard who escaped from the zoo by jumping (they're great jumpers) the wall!
That zoo is in desperate need of renovation. Currently the enclosures are not a suitable size (including the height) for the animals that they keep.
We lived very near the zoo in 1979-1981 and a leopard was treed by the neighborhood children and their dogs. Can't believe they are still escaping!
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