Dubai Zoo enjoyed a record number of visitors in February when a total of 56,866 people viewed the attractions.
The figurewas a 23 per cent increase over the 46,231 visitors in the same month last year. The gorillas - which were obtained as a result of a confiscation at the airport - were among the biggest crowd-pullers.
The giraffes were also popular with children and adults alike, with the baby giraffe in particular attracting big crowds.
In January the zoo was visited by 45,541 people.
Dr Reza Khan, head of the Zoo Section at the Public Parks and Horticulture Department of the municipality, noted that the high growth in the number of visitors last month could be attributed to a number of factors, including the Dubai Shopping Festival and Eid Al Adha holidays.
Last year, the zoo received a total of 366,023 visitors, the highest since it was opened 12 years ago. He added the zoo has a variety of large and small animals, and its compact design allows visitors to go through the place in a fairly short period of time.
"Another reason for our popularity is that we have continually been adding new species of different animals to our collection. We keep changing the pattern of the cages and continue to develop in the available space."
Dr Khan pointed out that in 1990 the zoo had about 600 animals, and the collection then did not include giraffes, gorillas and a few other animals that are very important for any zoo.
"Many of the animals confiscated at the airport, and those of private collectors, keep ending up with us, and at one time our collection went up to 1,800 animals. Our present collection thus stands at 1,000. This figure includes 210 mammals, 450 birds and 250 reptiles."
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