Sir Bani Yas Island, the private wildlife park created by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan nearly 40 years ago, is getting ready to receive its first tourists in just a few months.
The 87 square kilometre island, located 170km west of Abu Dhabi, should see visitors come ashore to a new resort later this year, said a report published by the Nationbal daily.
Predators, including a golden jackal and a striped hyena, were introduced as part of an attempt to deal with a wildlife population explosion that threatened to overwhelm the fragile 3,240-hectare habitat.
The new predators were born at the Breeding Centre for Endangered Arabian Wildlife in Sharjah.
The changes are part of a master plan commissioned by the Abu Dhabi Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC) to attract visitors to the island with a mix of resorts, eco-lodges and campsites, as well as a lagoon with dolphins.
The main nature reserve will not be finished until January, but the first phase of the resort could be ready by the end of the summer.
The first stage will feature a 64-room hotel, a spa and a campsite, which has been described as "outdoors simplicity meets luxurious hospitality".
Visitors will be shuttled to the island by seaplane or ferry. And from next year, boats will leave from the end of a two-kilometre long jetty at Marsa Jabel Dhanna, the future home of a second hotel.
Sheikh Zayed created Sir Bani Yas as a nature paradise for rare species, which included antelope and gazelles. He visited the island often, travelling with important visitors or members of the royal family.
Since Sheikh Zayed's death in 2004, the island's animal population has multiplied rapidly and today numbers about 17,000 creatures. This growth was helped along by the vegetation, kept lush by the five million gallons of water pumped from the mainland daily.
While two-thirds of the island will remain a nature reserve, the development plans have called for a substantial reduction in animals to about 4,000.
Priority will be given to native species, such as the Arabian oryx and sand gazelle. At 400 strong, the herd of oryx on the island is the largest in the world, despite being extinct in the wild in Abu Dhabi until recently.
Dr Jeremy Anderson, a South African conservation expert who is behind the project, said a number of other species would also be introduced to the island to create a more diverse population.
''The first batch of endangered Arabian tahr and threatened Nubian ibex will be delivered later this year, ''he said as quoted by The National.
"In the long run, we also plan to introduce vultures," he said.
Sir Bani Yas is a joint development between the Government and the private sector. It is expected to cost AED11.5 billion (US$3bn) and could attract 250,000 visitors when the first phase is completed in 2010. WAM
The 87 square kilometre island, located 170km west of Abu Dhabi, should see visitors come ashore to a new resort later this year, said a report published by the Nationbal daily.
Predators, including a golden jackal and a striped hyena, were introduced as part of an attempt to deal with a wildlife population explosion that threatened to overwhelm the fragile 3,240-hectare habitat.
The new predators were born at the Breeding Centre for Endangered Arabian Wildlife in Sharjah.
The changes are part of a master plan commissioned by the Abu Dhabi Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC) to attract visitors to the island with a mix of resorts, eco-lodges and campsites, as well as a lagoon with dolphins.
The main nature reserve will not be finished until January, but the first phase of the resort could be ready by the end of the summer.
The first stage will feature a 64-room hotel, a spa and a campsite, which has been described as "outdoors simplicity meets luxurious hospitality".
Visitors will be shuttled to the island by seaplane or ferry. And from next year, boats will leave from the end of a two-kilometre long jetty at Marsa Jabel Dhanna, the future home of a second hotel.
Sheikh Zayed created Sir Bani Yas as a nature paradise for rare species, which included antelope and gazelles. He visited the island often, travelling with important visitors or members of the royal family.
Since Sheikh Zayed's death in 2004, the island's animal population has multiplied rapidly and today numbers about 17,000 creatures. This growth was helped along by the vegetation, kept lush by the five million gallons of water pumped from the mainland daily.
While two-thirds of the island will remain a nature reserve, the development plans have called for a substantial reduction in animals to about 4,000.
Priority will be given to native species, such as the Arabian oryx and sand gazelle. At 400 strong, the herd of oryx on the island is the largest in the world, despite being extinct in the wild in Abu Dhabi until recently.
Dr Jeremy Anderson, a South African conservation expert who is behind the project, said a number of other species would also be introduced to the island to create a more diverse population.
''The first batch of endangered Arabian tahr and threatened Nubian ibex will be delivered later this year, ''he said as quoted by The National.
"In the long run, we also plan to introduce vultures," he said.
Sir Bani Yas is a joint development between the Government and the private sector. It is expected to cost AED11.5 billion (US$3bn) and could attract 250,000 visitors when the first phase is completed in 2010. WAM
Read more!
