About 20,000 rare representatives of the fauna, including giraffes, emu and African ostriches, will be relocated from the Abu Dhab island of Sir Bani Yas, which is undergoing the process of transforming from a private wildlife park into a world-class tourist resort in the coming months.
No more than 5,000 animals of the Sir Bani Yas Island Park, owned by the Al Nahyan family ruling in the UAE, will remain in their usual place after the resettlement process is completed by March 2009. Basically, these are animals traditionally living in the Emirates and the Gulf countries, including antelopes, gemsboks and falcons. The remaining animals and birds on the island will live in a specially created new wildlife park, which will open for visitors to access by the end of next year.
Several thousand animals and birds after leaving the island of Sir Bani Yas will be released into the wild, in their usual habitat. The remaining thousands of immigrants, including really rare representatives of the world fauna, will go to Al Ain, where they prepared waiting pens of the local zoo.
To work on the export of animals from the island, a special team of 55 people was created, including representatives of environmental organizations. Every two days, 300 to 500 animals and birds will leave the island forever.
The island of Sir Bani Yas, belonging to the emirate of Abu Dhabi, is located off the coast of the UAE, near the town of Jebel Danna, 250 km from the capital of the Emirates of the city of Abu Dhabi. Until recently, it was a wildlife sanctuary closed to visitors, once created by the founder and first president of the country, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. In the coming year, the island will be turned into a point of international eco-tourism.
