After 50 years of creating fond memories, the Dubai Zoo permanently closed its doors on Sunday. The animals at the zoo are being shifted to the bigger and better Dubai Safari that is scheduled to open on December 2.

Hussain Nasser Lootah, Director-General of the Dubai Municipality, honoured the keepers who developed and kept the zoo going strong, offering residents an educational and entertainment experience for the last 50 years.

Keepers and employees will also be shifted to use their expertise in operating the safari.

As the zoo closed its gates at 5:30pm, Dr Reza Khan, principal wildlife specialist at the Dubai Municipality - who served at the zoo for the past 25 years - said it's the end of an era, not only for Dubai but also for the Arabian Peninsula.

"The Dubai Zoo is the oldest zoo in the Arabian Peninsula and this is considered the end of a chapter," said Khan of the facility that opened to the public in May 1967. "It is the end of a long journey of education and conversation that brought people closer to animals. Nostalgia fills us, but we are happy that animals will be getting extra space and care at the Dubai Safari," noted Khan, who will continue his work at the new park.

While some 500 animals have already been moved to the Dubai Safari, 200 others, including a lion, bear, monkeys, birds, snakes, baby tortoises, chimpanzees and a gibbon, will be shifted soon.

Khan added that the rest of the animals will be moved when the safari is equipped with the right habitat to receive them. He said the animals will be moved by the end of the month.

"The safari is divided into Arabian, Asian and African villages. Some of the animals we have do not fit in any of the sections, so they will be exhibited in a different place," said Khan. "Small birds, for example, will be exhibited in a children's park for educational purposes."

He added that animals that won't be exhibited will be placed in quarantine where they would have space to live. Nursing mothers will be given special care in "holding areas".

While the two-hectare zoo won't be open for visitors, work is still not done for Khan and his staff who have to ensure a safe transition of animals to the bigger park, expected to open on the UAE National Day.

The zoo was the first Arabian zoo to breed the rare chimpanzee and the Arabian or Gordon's wildcat. It later expanded to house 1,800 animals and birds.

Khan said the Dubai Safari, the first of its kind in the Middle East, will offer residents and tourists a new kind of experience filled with education and entertainment. "People can expect something massive ranging from climbing structures for children to indoor and outdoor entertainment and a huge court of restaurants, shops and shades where visitors can relax."

But what will happen to the premises of zoo? Nobody seems to know the answer yet.

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