Zoolife September edition - Insights from Al Ain Zoo

September 2018

THE AFRICAN WILD DOG REEM AL KAABI

A complete healthy lifestyle for me and my family

Children’s Discovery Garden

2018 EVENTS

A free space for the wonders of light and lens, that we leave up to the visitors’ and webpage surfers’ creativity. Share your picture with us, and let it speak for you.

Please send the photographs to zoolife@alainzoo.ae

Abu Dhabi 08 SEPT – 04 NOV Community Critique SEAF 20172018 Cohort 5 Show Family Development Foundation HQ

23 - 29 SEPT The Abu Dhabi International Hunting & Equestrian Exhibition ADNEC

Al Ain 23 SEPT - 02 OCT Al Ain Book Fair Al Ain Convention Center

25 SEPT Al Qattara Summer Exhibition Al Qattara Arts Centre

Our Lion was seen stretching - or maybe trying to proudly show off some of his relaxing yoga skills. Maybe our visitor could take the Lion as an example and start thinking of practicing yoga and spiritual meditation!

Taken by: Kamran Manzour

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OUR TEAM

Sales and Information Centre Team The Sales and Information Centre was established three years ago at Al Ain Zoo. The Staff receive external calls, respond to inquiries, book different services and experiences as well as communicate visitor comments and suggestions through phone and website chat. In addition to that the centre regulates internal communication between staff members and responds to their inquiries. They are the front line of customer service.

The centre, consisting of seven

employees, have succeeded in establishing an integrated information archive for the Zoo, Al Ain Safari and the Sheikh Zayed Desert Learning Centre to benefit the tourism aspects and provide callers with any required information.

The total number of calls received since the beginning of this year was about 8,857 calls of which 45% were reservation and inquiries

about Al Ain Safari. Moreover the number of emails received since the beggining of this year was about 4,674.

The centre receives calls from UAE residents, neighboring Gulf countries, as well as from as far as India, Britain and Australia, during their daily working hours from 8 am to 4 pm throughout the year.

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My Story

Sheikh Zayed Desert Learning Centre I was inaugurated in October 10 2016. Many people were anticipating my opening; A grand facility, just like the luxurious name I carry. My beloved children roam my five galleries in search of the capital’s beautiful history.

Did you know that our history extends over 500 million years?

How sweet are their screams in the Jebel Hafeet’s cave running away from the bats’ attacks! I wish you can witness their eyes widen when they see the largest beetle in Abu Dhabi! Or when they gather around the insects’ vacuum, the “Diving for Pearls” game and the beauty of them standing and saluting the photo of H.H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of

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the UAE. I will never forget the old man that left my theatre wiping his tears after watching the “Visions of the Arabian Desert” film which brought back many memories of his past in Al Ain Oasis city; where he overcame the drought and poverty with strength and pride.

Not to forget the voice of the school teacher praying for the late Sheikh Zayed, while advising her students to listen intently to his stories and learn from his vision.

I am the “Sheikh Zayed Desert Learning Centre” honored to be part of Al Ain Zoo’s family. Visit me and enjoy an exceptional exploratory experience.

The Sheikh Zayed Desert Learning Centre is the first building in the United Arab Emirates to earn an Estidama rating of five pearls in sustainability accreditation at the Design & Construction stage, according to the exacting standards set by the Abu Dhabi Department of Urban Planning and Municipalities. The Centre also received a LEED Platinum certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). The Sheikh Zayed Desert Learning Centre consists of five interactive exhibits and a theatre featuring one of the largest screens in the Middle East. It welcomes more than 40,000 students a year and hosts the largest environmental Research Centre in the UAE. ZooLife, Al Ain Zoo | September 2018 | 5

the observer

Back to School

The Al Ain Zoo participation at ADIHEX

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September 2018

25 - 29 Sept 2018

experiences

Children’s Discovery Garden The Children’s Discovery Garden is one of the highly attractive visitor destinantions in Al Ain where it attracts both national and international visitors.

senses that combines educational benefits with the simple joy of learning.

The area uses modern technology allowing the children to discover and interact with the tools. This helps develop the children’s educational skills in a fun and interactive way.

The Children’s Discovery Garden has a water play area that welcomes children from 1 to 6 years old. It promotes a love of scientific discovery through kinetic structures that work on physical theories, and explore the properties of water in a fun and recreational way. Along side, there is the fossils area where children take a journey into the past by digging and discovering fossil that mimic the remains of extinct animals.

The project extends over 4,000 square meters and creates a unique educational exploratory experience for visitors,. This provides learning, discovery and activation of the various natural

Additionally were are tactile games which focus on the interaction of different senses. It offers various scientific games featuring natural phenomena such as water and wind, exploration of the

It was built according to high level standards to qualify Al Ain Zoo to be one of the words largest wildlife tourism destinations.

properties of metallic materials, understanding electricity, telephonics, musical sounds, color and hue classifications, and recognition of plants through the sense of smell.

Other sections include the sand play area which help in regulating physical activity through model making, climbing, running and jumping in games designed in the form of animals. There is a shaded seating area, a range of different plants, restaurants and a parents’ area that allows adults to accompany their children and share their scientific discoveries.

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Animal life

The African Wild Dog

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The African Wild Dog (Lycaon pictus), a medium-sized dog species that is a canid native to Africa, also known as African Hunting Dog, Cape Wild Dog, African Painted Dog, Painted wolf, Painted Hunting Dog. Location The African Wild Dog inhabits East and Central Africa and prefers semi-desert areas, savannahs, woodlands and highlands. It is endangered due to lack of natural habitats, illegal hunting and exposure to diseases that cross infect from pets.

Characteristics The African Wild Dog is characterized by its long legs, strong and large jaw, large round ears and 4 toes only on their front paws, contrary to other types of Dog that have 5 toes. Its body is covered with irregular patches of brown, black, yellow and white fur.

These Dogs have a large heart and lungs that help them cope with speed. They also have long legs to jump and claws used for digging.

Because they consume lots of bone material in their diet, African Wild Dogs have large teeth to help them grind those bones.

Diet The African Wild Dog is a carnivore and usually hunts its prey in groups, feeding on mammals as well as various types of antelopes, rodents, lizards, birds and insects.

It can chase its prey for long periods while running at the same speed for several kilometers.

The height of the African Wild Dog is 30 cm to the shoulder, and usually weighs between 55 and 70 kg.

Pack The African Wild Dog hunts in groups, usually early morning or late at night. It also lives in large packs of up to 20 Dogs. The strength of these packs depends on their size; the larger pack is the most successful one in chasing and running down small animals.

Each pack of Dogs has a female and male that are dominant.

Only 5,000 Wild Dogs remain, and Al Ain Zoo has been successfully nurturing them since 2010.

Lifespan The African wild Dog can live up to 10 years in the Wild and up to 13 while living in captivity.

The speed of the African Wild Dog can reach up to 35 km per hour and can travel long distances during the day.

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Being very well known for his humanity, all of our rulers have spoken of how they were amazed by his generosity. He was always a man who carried out great acts of kindness and did everything he could for his people. The world has known him as a benelovent Arab Muslim who loved to help people in need.

The late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan 10 | ZooLife, Al Ain Zoo | September 2018

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Instagraming

alainzoouae “We shall continue to work to protect our environment and our wildlife, as did our forefathers before us. It is a duty, and if we fail, our children, rightly, will reproach us for squandering an essential part of their inheritance, and of our heritage� The Late Sheikh #Zayed #AlAinZoo 403 likes

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Places Environmental Research Centre Sheikh Zayed Desert Learning Centre Series After the tour of five galleries and our journey through the past, present and future, we join “ZooLife� this time to visit another masterpiece of the Sheikh Zayed Desert Learning Centre, combining masterworks of design and knowledge.

The largest specialized centre in the field of environmental sciences in the United Arab Emirates, the Sheikh Zayed Desert Learning Centre has more than 11,000 printed sources and many more important databases that provide millions of updated electronic resources, thus forming a key

pillar in supporting knowledge exchange and cultural activities in the field of the environment, nature conservation and wildlife.

The beauty of the Centre will astound you at first glimpse. When you stroll through its aisles while experiencing a blue-lit water scene that reflects the magnificence of the lighting and the technical engineering of the design. It may be best to start enjoying the subtle beauty of the place before diving into the depths of knowledge it contains.

The Research Centre includes

various research topics, whereas one can search through general books, books related to the UAE and Gulf, encyclopedias, atlases, guides and school related cirriculum for various educational stages.

The Centre welcomes specialists, researchers, academics, students, various interested visitors as well as those concerned with the environmental field. It also provides guided tours of the Centre to maximize the benefit to visitors and give them a relaxing space for reading and browsing.

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Our Experts “Body and soul are inseparable.

We have to go back to nature and treat our bodies and souls well and enjoy what nature offers.”

Reem Al Kaabi

“I stopped eating meat twelve years ago and a macrobiotic diet brought me back to life” Reem Al Kaabi

ZooLife had no clue where to start. This woman sees life from a different perspective, the way she eats, dresses, draws, or even applies makeup. We can see it very clearly that she has reached a good level of inner peace, which makes us curious to get to Know her better. Reem Al Kaabi joined our team at Al Ain Zoo in 2016 after getting her Bachelor of Business Administration Degree.

Her passion for knowledge has no limits and besides her dedication to studying business administration and working in the biology department, she has studied fashion design, makeup artistry and focused on making her macrobiotic diet a part of her lifestyle.

ZooLife caught up with Reem and chatted about her lifestyle choices: Reem, you have many unusual interests, but what makes me very curious is the macrobiotic diet! Could you please tell us how it changed your life?

“Macrobiotic is a Greek word that means ’long-living’. It is not just a temporary diet, it is a lifestyle and is based on the idea of going back to nature where we originally belong.

By following this diet you will know what is good for you to eat and what is not. You will also find out what could be harmful to your body on the long run, by looking into your body in terms of the number and the function of your teeth, the size of your digestive system and how it works, to prove that our body’s can easily depend on whole grains with small amounts of vegetables and legumes. This regime cured many incurable diseases such as cancer and heart diseases. I myself have not been ill for four years and the same goes for my family. They are kept in excellent health by following a healthy vegan diet derived from the macrobiotic regime. Also, one of my friends is following the same diet and has not had any health problems

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for ten years.”

What foods are considered harmful in the macrobiotic diet?

“Meat is at the top of the list. I stopped eating meat twelve years ago and I depend on many other options such as wholegrain products, vegetables, legumes and fruits. It is widely known that meat consumption is a primary cause of many diseases. Animals are exposed to many hormones and artificial insemination in order to meet the needs of the global food market. This can have a bad effect on them psychologically and therefore the meat we eat their meat, Subsequently can have bad effect on our health and our psychological conditions.”

She added, “People in the past did not eat big amounts of meat as we do now. Even wild animals hunt only twice a week. People originally started eating great amounts of meat when a European medical team carried out tests on meat products and found them full of minerals. Since then, eating meat has spread, along with cancers and other incurable diseases because our body’s cannot process animal proteins properly, and cannot get rid of the surplus.”

in the early 20th century, she was able to free women of the Victorian era from their tough corsets and their plain heavy dresses. She turned fashion trends upside down and invented a whole new line which continues to this very day.”

Reem added sadly, “But what we have nowadays is the public figures on social media who unfortunately have a great impact on the younger generation’s taste, and those youngsters follow them blindly.

Some of these famous ‘public figures’ are people who know nothing about fashion or makeup but only looking for more followers.”

Do you believe that fashion and drawing are two sides of the same coin?

“Could be. There is a small difference between the two. Regarding fashion and makeup, I become committed, especially when there are special

family occasions. But when it comes to drawing, it is my way to recharge my soul. I love how I took advantage of this gift to design our plates and dishes at home to encourage my kids to use them and urge them to eat healthy food. I organize their food to create a tempting meal for them to eat with joy. I always post photos of my dishes on my Instagram account to spread the happiness.”

Finally, do you have anything you want to tell our readers?

“Body and soul are inseparable. We have to go back to nature and treat our bodies and souls well and enjoy what nature offers. You can simply connect with nature through a short walk on sand or taking a deep breath when you wake up in the morning.

Let’s not waste God’s gifts – we must take care of our bodies and souls.”

What are the common factors between your interest in food, fashion, and makeup?

“It is lifestyle and art in harmony.

That is why I wanted to have my own unique style. Not every style suits you and what suits you may not suit another. Now I know the best way to apply my makeup and I design my own clothes for me and my family in my small workshop at home.”

Do you have your own taste of style or you go with the flow?

“I do not think there really is such thing as personal taste. It is the fashion stores, magazines and trends that direct people in what to wear. Take Coco Chanel for example; ZooLife, Al Ain Zoo | September 2018 | 15

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Which animal is the second largest mammal after the elephant?

The African Wild Dog is a different type of dog whereas it has three toes on their front paw.

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August Edition Question

How long is the trip at Al Ain Safari?

How many galleries does the Sheikh Zayed Desert Learning Centre include?

5 Galleries

Send your answers to zoolife@alainzoo.ae and see if you got the right answers!

High Tech at the Sheikh Zayed Desert Learning Centre

The Centre is equipped with highly intelligent devices of building management system that monitors and reduces the energy consumption 18 | ZooLife, Al Ain Zoo | September 2018

“Forgive everyone and forgive everything. Enjoy your pure spirit while you can as it narrates the secrets of light to you and opens up about the code of love.�

You may Collect this Voucher from the Ticketing Office ZooLife, Al Ain Zoo | September 2018 | 19