Dubai Municipality on Monday announced that the Dubai Safari Park will welcome visitors starting from Oct. 5, 2020, with a wide range of new interactive, educational, and entertainment experiences for visitors of all ages. The opening follows the completion of a comprehensive renovation and development process aimed at expanding the facilities of the Park and further enriching the visitor experience. Dawoud Al Hajri, the director-general of Dubai Municipality, said: "The Dubai Safari Park contributes to the vision of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the UAE's vice president, prime minister and the ruler of Dubai, to make the emirate the world's most preferred lifestyle, leisure and tourist destination. Dubai Municipality continues to introduce new initiatives to support his objective of creating a happiness-centered model of development." Spanning over 119 hectares of immaculately landscaped spaces that provide hospitable animal habitats, the Dubai Safari Park houses an expanded community of 3,000 mammals, birds, amphibians, and invertebrates. The redesigned facility has many improvements to enhance guests' access to its various sites. "As the momentum of recovery in the tourism market gathers pace, Dubai Safari provides an exciting attraction for both international visitors and residents. The redesigned Dubai Safari has many unique interactive programs blended into the safari journey that provide visitors with a unique and memorable experience. Not only can they see different types of animals from across the world, but they can also enjoy activities, performances, and shows that entertain as well as educate," Al-Hajiri said. New activities such as animal feeding, educational and awareness programs, and seasonal events have been added to enrich the visitor experience. The activities have been designed to increase visitors' awareness and provide opportunities for interaction with animals. Serving both as an animal reserve and educational center, the new Dubai Safari features a group of new animals, including African elephants and giraffes. Rare animals at the Park include the Komodo dragon, Spiral-horned antelope, Arabian Oryx, colored African wild dog, gorilla, gibbon, bongo, and lemur. Visitors can transport themselves around the Park on state-of-the-art air-conditioned trains. The Park comprises three main villages, the African Village, Asian Village, and Explorer Village, and also includes an Arabian Desert Safari tour. A unique bus tour in the Explorer Village gives visitors a chance to discover animals from Africa and Asia. Veterinary and animal care units of the Dubai Safari Park's dedicated Life and Science teams provide animals with the best care in line with global animal welfare standards. The Park's full-fledged enrichment team supports its Animal Care unit in taking care of the animals' welfare and training. Dubai Safari also follows internationally benchmarked protocols for protected animal contact to ensure the safety of the animals and staff. The Park has adopted sustainable and eco-friendly technologies and practices. Originally built on a landfill site, Dubai Safari Park has transformed the land into a reusable space, using advanced technology. Energy harnessed from solar panels is used to power the park's buildings and its electric vehicles. With the goal of becoming a completely zero-waste facility, Dubai Safari Park has distributed recycling waste bins across the grounds for visitors to use. An onsite reverse osmosis plant that filters and recycles water for animal water bodies, repurposes food and animal waste into organic compost, which is used as fertilizer across the park. Comprehensive precautionary measures have been implemented in the Dubai Safari facility to ensure a safe environment for visitors. A thermal camera has been installed and manual thermometers will be used to screen visitors. The social distancing of two meters between people is strictly enforced with stickers placed on the floors to guide visitors. Vending machines in the Park sell masks and gloves while hand sanitizers are provided to everyone. Dubai Safari Park is open to the public daily from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m., and online reservation is required for entry. — WAM
