Dubai Safari to have theatre and interactive garden

The buzz around Dubai Safari has been building for months, as we’re slowly drip fed new information. The latest teaser of the eco-friendly park is an image of the project’s main building – and it looks impressive.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, UAE Minister of Finance and Chairman of Dubai Municipality has given the go-ahead for the park’s main building at an estimated cost of AED151 million. It will include a theatre and an interactive garden for children.

According to Essa Al Haj Al Maidoor, the Deputy Director-General of Dubai Municipality, Dubai Safari will incorporate smart, secure and environmentally-friendly services. The park will utilise treated water and renewable energy.

A photo posted by Dubai Municipality بلدية دبي (@dubaimunicipality) on Jul 30, 2016 at 11:57pm PDT

Occupying 119 hectares of land, Dubai safari, which will replace Dubai Zoo, is expected to open at the start of 2017. The project will be home to 1,000 animals, including 350 rare species. Some of the animal enclosures will be temperature controlled, and the park will use environmentally-friendly systems, including solar energy.

Giving a teaser of the construction work being carried out on the park, Dubai Municipality posted a video on their Instagram account along with a caption explaining that the park will become home to rare and endangered species.

A video posted by Dubai municipality بلدية دبي (@dubaimunicipality) on Jan 12, 2016 at 10:30pm PST

HE Eng. Hussain Nasser Lootah, Director General of Dubai Municipality: “The new Dubai Safari will be home to almost 1,000 animals from around the world, and out of those, there will be more than 350 species of rare and endangered animals.”

In fact, the first animals have already moved in. Four months ago some animals arrived from Seoul Grand Park in Korea. Technical Director at Dubai Safari, Timothy Husband, said that they received “nine lions, four bears, nine monkeys and ten bats from Korea.”

“What we’ve done in the last 14 months is travel around the world looking for animals at different zoos,” he continued. ”Finding the best genetics so that Dubai Safari will have the best genetics possible of every type of animal available in zoos today.”