Wildlife

Al Ain Wildlife Adventure

It was Wednesday morning the last day of my week-long Eid Al Adha Holiday, me and my wife were peacefully taking our breakfast when suddenly she surprisingly asked me if I have any activities for that day. I immediately answered “nothing” for what I have in mind is I’ll be spending my entire day at home. Eating , watching movies and playing NBA 2K11.But something strange happened, after my yes and no conversation with her.

I found my self in hurry for an unplanned trip to Al Ain. Its literally a spur of the moment trip.
Travelling to this rural part of Abu Dhabi is like going to nowhere. It was a 2 hour trip of sun and sands! But it can’t be denied that the attractive feature of Al Ain are it’s greeneries, mountains, and the overall, humbleness of the city. Unlike it’s neighbor city Abu Dhabi, which in no time will become the next Dubai , Al Ain does not have too many malls, skyscrapers and constructions in it. In other words, if you’re the type who would like to be at peace with mother nature this is one of the best places to be.

Upon arriving at the zoo , as expected, there were a lot of people. However, it did not hinder us to not pursue our mission and that’s to witness the wonderful animals at that famous zoo and of course my another chance to practice photography. At the entrance of the zoo, a bunch of Ghazals will be the first to greet you. Ghazals , are considered as trademark animals in the UAE. There are few companies across the country that were named after them. The typical zoo animals were also present, monkeys, birds, lions, tigers, giraffes, crocodiles, and many more.Also, there were a few which I did not expect to be there like the wolves and penguins.

Now, let me share the animals that really caught my attention,the first one was the tortoise. I have seen a tortoise before, but this was the first time I have seen a tortoise at their reproductive moment I should say! Say yes to procreation! It was very rare for me, that’s why I took a souvenir of this promising moment. For a few seconds, I felt I was one of those National Geographic guys who are have these very rare and surprising shots!Another is the Rhino,the only distance between us and the Rhino is just a fence, that’s why my D90 caught it peeing! The bird show was the last event of the entire visit, but this was the most impressive of all. Why? Falcons, Eagles and Vultures, from my little knowledge is not those type of animals which can be easily trained. They are known to be at the wild , hunting down and killing their preys and to see them interact with their trainers at front of a large crowd was perfectly stunning!

It was tiring but it was worth it! In a country like UAE, you might not expect to have these wide variety of animals in a zoo, but yes, it has! A recommended trip I should say. Las but not the least, I would just like to share me and my wife’s budget friendly tips one how to get to Al Ain Zoo from Abu Dhabi:
1. Take bus! 10 AED per head from Abu Dhabi to Al Ain
2. From Al Ain bus station, you can still take a bus to the zoo, a fifteen ride for 1 AED!
3. Zoo Entrance- Adult 15 AED; Children 10 AED;
4. Bring food! You can actually eat at the zoo. But if you cannot , there are fast food chains inside the zoo.

It’s affordable and fun! Until my next adventure!
I’m leaving you some of the other shots I took that day. Enjoy!