Sharjah Safari’s Twin Missions
It aims to deliver an unparalleled experiencefor visitors and to lead research into and the conservation of endangered African species.
By Peter Drennan
The birth of a southern white rhino in Sharjah last August brought jubilation. The calf represented another step in the preservation of a species that was hunted to the cusp of extinction in the late 19th century.
Found primarily in southern Africa—from Angola and Namibia in the west to Eswatini and Mozambique in the east—the southern white rhino population reached a critical low of just 100 individuals in 1895. After more than a century of protection and management, the population has recovered to number more than 18,000. They are now classified as “Near Threatened”, the only one of the five rhino species that is not endangered.
The calf, a female named Wuhaida, was the result of a breeding programme at Sharjah Safari that is backed by the United Nations and focused on the preservation of endangered African species. Sharjah Safari was seven years in the making, but even before it opened in February it was carrying out vital conservation work. The park, says Kevin Budd, operations manager, animal care and conservation, has twin missions: offer an unparalleled attraction for visitors, and lead research into and the conservation of African species on the Arabian Peninsula.
The calf, a female named Wuhaida, was the result of a breeding programme at Sharjah Safari that is backed by the United Nations and focused on the preservation of endangered African species.
“A good zoo has to be far more than just a tourist attraction. At Sharjah Safari, conservation and research is one of our core objectives and we work closely with national and international partners to achieve our conservation goals,” he says. “But we also embrace our role in exposing people to nature and educating them about the biodiversity around them and around the world.”
While Wuhaida has yet to make her public debut—she is shy and stays close to her mother, says my guide, Hessa—several other infants born here have, including Bridi and Valentina, two southern giraffes. Valentina was born on Valentine’s Day. Bridi was named after the expansive conservation zone of which Sharjah Safari is part.
Al Bridi Reserve in Al Dhaid was made a protected zone by His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohamed Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah, in 2009 in a bid to safeguard biodiversity and natural ecosystems. Sharjah Safari, the largest wildlife reserve outside Africa, was the ruler’s vision too, and when it opened on February 17, His Highness came to visit. In the days that followed, 11,800 others did too, some 2,400 on the second day alone, a testament to the pull of the wild.
Hessa also guided His Highness during his tour and recalls her surprise at his encyclopaedic knowledge of plants indigenous to the UAE. Some 70,000 trees and shrubs, indigenous and African—the majority Vachellia, the iconic flat-topped thorn trees formerly known as Acacia and common to Africa—have been planted to create habitats and feed that are familiar to animals brought here from the continent.
Giraffes started arriving in Sharjah Safari more than five years ago. Touring in an open-sided 4×4 allows for uninterrupted views.
Sharjah Safari stretches over eight square kilometres and is divided into 12 zones that represent the varied terrains of Africa, and the species that call them home. Today, it is home to more than 2,000 animals from 120 species—including African lions, elephants, southern giraffes, gazelles, kudu, Nile crocodiles, flamingos, Aldabra giant tortoises, scimitar-horned oryx, southern ground hornbills and eastern black rhinos—many of which have spent years acclimating since their release. But that is expected to rise to 130 species and 2,500 individuals by the end of the year as more animals are introduced, including ring-tailed lemurs, zebra, Cape buffalo and roan antelope.
Globally, more than 40,000 species are threatened with extinction, 28% of all assessed species, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it.
“About 14% of birds, 21% of reptiles and 26% of mammals are threatened,” Budd says. “But of the species we have here, the scimitar-horned oryx is listed by the IUCN Red List as ‘Extinct in the Wild’, although the Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi has just reintroduced animals to Chad, and the eastern black rhino is ‘Critically Endangered’. The Aldabra giant tortoise, Nile crocodile, African lion, and southern ground hornbill are all ‘Vulnerable’.”
During my visit, on a hot May morning, many animals are sheltering in shaded areas. A fine mist sprayed from hidden posts offers cooling succour from the sun. A male ostrich, its extravagant black plumage shiny and wet from the mist, sits motionless amid the shrubs, other than tiny movements of his head which indicate he is aware he is being watched. We move cautiously to avoid disturbing him further. Two lions, one male, one female, lie in the shade of the earth-toned viewing pavilion—a number of zones have such pavilions so that you can view the animals without being in danger yourself—their bodies close enough to touch were it not for the glass that separates us. In the evening, as the sun cools, they will climb to the top of a rock formation to feed. One innovation serves as an intervention to nature: the man-made rocks are cooled from the inside.
Top: Lions are listed as “vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Bottom: Hunted close to extinction in the 1940s to 1960s, international protections have helped Nile crocodile numbers rebound.
And there lies an important question: how does Sharjah’s Environment and Protected Areas Authority, which runs Sharjah Safari, create the conditions the various species need to thrive in the punishing climate of the Gulf?
“Fortunately, many African species are quite used to hot, dry conditions, so they are able to adapt well if we provide adequate areas for them to rest and escape to cool environments during the hottest parts of the day,” Budd says. “We also have to ensure that they always have access to fresh water, protective shelters, high-quality food and enough space to keep them healthy and stress-free. Having a good understanding of each species’ natural behaviour and habitat also allows us to meet their specific requirements, provide them with individual care, and develop enrichment programmes to keep them comfortable and active.”
Heat—and on a much larger scale, climate change—presents an even greater challenge. For Nile crocodiles, and crocodilians generally, the temperature of egg incubation is the environmental factor determining sex. Incubation at 34ºC and above produces mostly males, Hessa says, while incubation at or lower than 30ºC produces mostly females. As the earth’s temperature rises, that presents an obvious challenge to the survival of the species. Several Nile crocodile females here are carrying eggs, she says. More births at Sharjah Safari are on the way.
“While some species have higher priority based on their conservation status and programme, we aim to be able to breed all species housed here to ensure their long-term sustainability,” Budd says.
Touring the park on a Gold, all-zones ticket, with a private guide, takes some five to six hours, but, happily, sightings are guaranteed. The shaded areas the animals seek out are dotted along the route of the vehicles, bringing visitors into comfortable viewing distance. The proximity is thrilling. Two juvenile elephants playing under the watchful eye of a mighty matriarch are no more than 100 metres away, though separated from the gravel track by water. Kudu and waterbuck, sheltering from the sun under a cluster of trees, are closer still. That proximity is key, it creates an understanding, an empathy.
“If we can change a few people’s behaviour by en- hancing their awareness and making them passionate about the environment,” Budd says, “this might have the greatest conservation benefit of all.”
Sharjah Safari is open daily from 08:30 to 18:30.
Photographs courtesy of Sharjah Safari
