"Al Ain Zoo" - we approve and recommend!
Who cares, but in every country we try to visit the zoo. This is such a small hobby for us, we have traveled all the zoos in Ukraine, with pleasure we have studied the beautiful and super neat zoo in Berlin, we have wound eight hundred kilometers from Hurghada to study the dirty and huge Cairo zoo and so on.
It would be a crime to come to the UAE, rent a car and not visit local zoos. One of the most beautiful zoos in the UAE is the Al Ain Zoo, and we decided to go there.
From our hotel in Ajman, El Ain is only 159 km - a two hour leisurely drive on a perfect road. We picked a day for the trip on a weekday, because on weekends there is not overcrowded. We get there without adventures, there are few cars, constant detours interfere a little due to the modernization of interchanges.
Parking near the zoo is huge, no space was spared.
We park, take the minimum grocery set for the child and go to the cash registers.
The entrance to the zoo is designed as a tent - a huge white dome covers the ticket office and the surrounding area. There is a separate VIP entrance, as I understand it, for those who do not want to stand in the crowd and are ready to pay extra for it. I didn’t find out how much a ticket costs there, but we didn’t need it, since there were practically no people at ordinary ticket offices. There are not so many Arab visitors themselves, most are Indians and Asians. We buy tickets - adult 20 dirhams (6 dollars), children - 10 (three dollars). Right at the entrance you can rent a baby stroller, this pleasure costs 40 dirhams ($11), the strollers themselves look almost new, there are tables, and without. There are special chairs for the disabled, as I understand it, it's free.
The guard at the entrance checked our tickets, saw Margot and began to check her knowledge of English, she in response began to laugh and hide behind us, the Arab began jokingly chasing her, in short, barely dispersed them; -)))
The zoo itself is very clean, many cleaners follow the visitors, and when they see the thrown garbage, they immediately rush to it and clean it up. Mostly Arab children litter - they deliberately throw garbage anywhere, even being near the trash can, as I understand it, the proud Arab nature does not allow humiliation to such a shame as getting into a trash can. Adult Arabs do cool things when he finishes something and there is a piece of paper, or just something is not needed in his hand, he extends his hand back with a regal gesture, one of the wives hastily takes the garbage from him and immediately throws it at his feet. Why can't an Arab himself throw rubbish under his feet is not clear, maybe some local custom ? ? ?
All large animals of the cat family are placed in enclosures with large panoramic windows, through which it is convenient to observe them. The trees in the aviary are wrapped with a strong metal mesh so that they do not sharpen their claws. In the middle, various platforms, climbing frames and secluded places for animals to rest are equipped, it is clear that they tried to think over everything and diversify the life of animals. When I was photographing, Margo sat down near the window, which interested the lion, he went up to the glass and began to consider his daughter thoughtfully, she turned and jumped out of surprise - after all, it’s difficult to see a lion a meter away from you and not react; -).
The king of beasts looked phlegmatic and sleepy, while the tigresses, on the contrary, were quite playful when the lion passed them, each trying to bite him or arrange demonstrative somersaults in the dust.
In general, the zoo has a lot of different felines, African lions, cougars, albino white tigers and others.
There are also several tables for those who want to relax and have a bite, but there are no people who want to, since all surfaces are covered with a layer of dust flying from the enclosures.
In the monkey house (not to be confused with the IVS) they saw little interesting, there was a midday dream, and all the monkeys huddled under a canopy in one heap.
Several times a large electric car drove past us, mostly retired people sat on it, for whom it would be very tiring to go around the zoo on their own.
There are several points around the territory where sweets and water are sold, from time to time we bought up both. On the street, as for the first of March, there is a strong heat - about 30 degrees, from time to time we hide in the shade, and arrange a little rest.
Most of all, the child liked lemurs (Margot immediately recognized them from the cartoon Magadascar), a crocodile in a terrarium, looking contemptuously at everyone around, very shaggy sheep, and two turkeys, sadly looking at each other through the net; -))
Giraffes have the largest enclosure, they move so far from the fence that they built an observation tower nearby. You can feed the giraffes, this is done by a group of four people, it costs thirty dirhams (eight dollars). Before feeding, all tourists are forced to thoroughly wash their hands with which they take grass, since giraffes easily pick up viruses and diseases.
There is a terrarium separately, it is worth going into it, if only because it is cool and fresh there; -)) It didn't make much of an impression, mysterious shadows moved in the semi-dark rooms, and only by the signs in front of the glass one could understand what was hiding there in the dark.
No, seriously, many departments were very dimly lit, the Arab caretaker explained this by caring for reptiles that are afraid of the light. The collection of snakes is quite considerable, but it is boring to look at the motionless colored rings for a long time. Of course, there were all sorts of monitor lizards, mice, marmots and the like, boring!
Then we found ...a zoo in a zoo, a separate fenced off area with the name "Children's Zoo". There you can stroke camels, ride them, there are ponies, horses, many domestic animals, ducks, geese, turkeys, a very good place for walking with small children. There we spent a lot of time looking at and feeding the animals.
In the depths of the zoo is the "Bird House", a large room with many birds. There you walk along paths and bridges, and birds flutter around you, they don’t fly close, but you can see from a distance of a couple of meters. An unimaginable number of parrots, all colors and patterns.
Separately, there is a room where the penguins are, there are almost never people there for one simple reason - a terrible stench, we also spent a minute there, at most.
I would like to say a separate word about ...toilets. Out of necessity, I visited one and was pleasantly surprised - a large room with air conditioning, everything shines with pristine cleanliness, every booth is torn to a shine. Washbasins with infrared sensors, triggered by the presentation of hands. A sad janitor stood in the corner of the toilet, watching me indifferently. Knowing the customs in the Arab countries, I expected that when he left he would start begging for baksheesh, but he did not react in any way to my intention to leave. I decided to give him dirhams (I liked the cleanliness in the establishment), handed him a coin, the cleaner shook his head in fright, pointing at the camera in the corner (they say, you can’t take money from visitors).
Okay, I leave the toilet, and I stop (my instinct told me that this is not the end of the story), and for sure, after a couple of seconds, the janitor flew out and stood next to me, thoughtfully examining empty palms, received his coin and instantly evaporated ...
The zoo is interesting, definitely worth a visit, it doesn’t have any bright features, but the variety of tigers and lions will definitely not leave anyone indifferent. It is better to visit it in not hot months, since there is little shade, the area is large and going around it takes a lot of energy. It is better to take food with you, because local cafes have a surprisingly meager menu, and even what is written on the menu is not always available. Even the smallest visitors will find something to see, and adults will certainly not be bored .. .
