Dubai Safari To Open Before Dubai’s National Day

Animal lovers, start getting yourselves ready: Dubai Municipality has announced that the park will have a soft launch at the beginning of November and the official opening later the month.
 
The official launch date is yet to be announced but the general director of Dubai Municipality, Hussain Nasser Lootah, confirmed that work is in full swing for the park to be opened ahead of National Day on December 2nd.

Dubai Safari is a AED 1 billion project situated in Al Warqaa, opposite Dragon Mart. It has an impressive 119-hectares which will be replacing the Dubai Zoo and eventually become home to 10,000 animals of 350 different species. The first phase will start with 3500 animals and visitors can expect to see bears, lions, bats, cheetahs, tigers, monkeys, elephants and much more.
 

The long-awaited Dubai Safari is part of Dubai’s efforts to make the emirate a unique tourist destination which provides high-quality and integrated services to visitors.

They are the first park in the country to become a member of WAZA – the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums and are aiming to become the best centre for wildlife in the region.

The park has been built to be as environmentally friendly as possible with the irrigation systems, transportation systems and entertainment facilities all powered by solar energy. It will feature an entrance plaza, theatre, children zoo, Arabian Safari, Asian Village, African Village, Safari Village, Al Wadi, butterfly park, botanical garden and educational and veterinary facilities.

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In addition to the public facilities, Dubai Safari is part of an international breeding program and will become a sanctuary for rescued animals. Two giraffes have already been taken to the grounds for breeding purposes and the park has also seen the birth of two white lion cubs earlier this year. 

It is speculated that around 10,500 animals from around the world will be rehabilitated at this facility. Tim Husband, the director of Dubai Safari’s told The National that “exotic animals rescued from illegal private collections or handed in during an amnesty will form an important part of the new Dubai Safari Park.”

Keeping dangerous exotic animals as house pets were made illegal in the UAE in January 2017. The amnesty for this has expired on July, 1^st, 2017 and owners caught with these exotic animals can be fined up to $136,000, sentenced to jail or both. Owners of illegal exotic animals are still encouraged to take them to the park. 
 
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Animal activists are very excited to see the opening of Dubai Safari, especially after Tim Husband emphasised that the park will not be a circus but rather focus on letting animals live in their natural habitat and allow them to roam free in the park. Some people have even gone as far as to call Dubai Safari the manmade version of the Kruger National Park in South Africa.
 
Residents can also expect to see the opening of the even longer awaited Dubai Frame before the end of the year.