Dubai Zoo is the oldest zoo of its kind not only in the United Arab Emirates but also in the Arabian Peninsula. Dubai Zoo also happens to be the first Arabian zoo to breed the rare Chimpanzee and Arabian wild cat.

Dubai Zoo is ideally located in the lush green suburb of Jumeirah. Probably, it is the greenest spot in this area covered with a variety of trees.

H. H. Sheikh Rashid bin Maktoum, the late Ruler of Dubai, permitted Otto J. Bulart to build the Zoo on a two hectacre plot in Jumeirah. The Dubai Zoo became a landmark as it indicated the "town's end".

During the first couple of years of its existance, the Dubai Zoo housed only a few animals like the big cats, monkeys and hoofed-animals. There was also a small acquarium with some fishes and reptiles. In 1971 the management of the Dubai Zoo was taken over by the Dubai Municipality. From May 1986 to May 1989, a part of the Zoo was redesigned and rebuilt. From June 1989 to the present there is constant re-designing and renovation.

The Dubai Zoo is a popular attraction, especially for families. The zoo's modern facilities though small, house many indigenous Arabian species, including the Arabian Wolf, which is no longer found in the wild, Gordon's Wildcat and the world's only captive breeding colony of Socotra Cormorants.

The zoo houses nearly two hundred species of mammals, birds, reptiles and fish. The Arabian species in the zoo include gazelle, caracal, foxes, wolves, hyaena, wild cat, flamingo, cormorant, herons, gulls, eagles, buzzards, vultures, snakes, skunks and lizards.

Featured in its large aviary are regional birds of prey. Nine species of large cats and seven species of primates are on show, along with many Arabian mammals. The zoo is shortly to undergo relocation and redevelopment allowing animals to live in areas designed to be as similar to their natural environment as possible.

Endangered species like barbary sheep, water buck, Siberian and Bengal tigers, Arabian wolves, hyaena, wild cats, scimitar-horned oryx, gorilla and chimpanzee are some of the inmates taken care of by the zoo authorities.

It is open from 10am - 6pm daily.

Entrance Fees: Dhs 2.