Dubai Safari Park opens next week: What's new, ticket prices, timings

You can get up, close and personal with wild animals as the Dubai Safari Park reopens its doors for the 2021 season from September 27. The park houses a diverse community of animals from across the world living in a climate-controlled environment similar to their natural habitat.

An animal kingdom

The 116-hectare park is home to around 3,000 animals, including 78 species of mammals – 10 different carnivores and 17 primates – 50 types of reptiles; 111 kinds of birds as well as amphibians and invertebrates.

Dubai Safari is home to the world’s first drive-through crocodile exhibit; the UAE’s largest group of baboons; the largest drive-through lion exhibit; and the country’s only drive-through hippo and tiger exhibits.

What’s new this season?

For the first time, the park will offer a behind the-scenes experience. This allows visitors to get close to the animals, learn about their habitat and ways of caring for them – all under the watchful guidance of an animal shepherd.

New animals at the sanctuary include the squirrel monkey, Mona monkey, Arabian wolf, and the northern white-cheeked gibbon. In addition, the park has 111 newborns of different animal species.

The winter season of the park will host a Leopard Exhibition, the bird show, a display of ‘amazing creatures of the world’ and birds of prey.

The area devoted to Arab wolves has been expanded by 10,000 square meters. The area contains many local trees and plants, in addition to unique formations of sand dunes and water, which have been developed to create a suitable environment for these animals. This area is considered the largest island sheltering Arabian wolves.