With the aim of preserving it and raising awareness of sustainability

Emirati engineer driven by passion to establish a miniature zoo

• Al-Hammadi confirmed that the story of this passion began with birds and reached rare species. Cinematographer: Eric Arazas

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The passion for the animal world led the Emirati engineer Ahmed Hassan Al Hammadi to acquire a large group of these creatures, some of which are rare in a miniature garden in his home, in which he aspires to expand and add more species.

Al Hammadi stressed to Emirates Today that he does not aim to achieve material gain, but seeks to transfer his love for animals and the information he has about them to people, and to educate them about the importance of sustainability and environmental preservation, and how to deal with animals, care for and preserve them.

The Emirati engineer added - during a tour of the park, which is located in the Al Faqa area in Abu Dhabi - that he began to establish the park nearly two years ago with the support of his uncle Masoud, from whom he learned to love animals and how to care for them and take care of them, and currently the park includes a large group, including raccoons, serval cat, lynx, some rare monkeys, palm civet, some types of lemurs, birds and parrots.

Al-Hammadi pointed out that he began the story of this passion with a type of bird, and his uncle was focused on the fact that whoever owns an animal must prove his worth and ability to care for it. He said he then took on an important challenge when he raised a five-day-old raccoon, rising every two hours to give him milk.

Not new

Al Hammadi, who studied mechanical engineering and works in this field, expressed his ambition to expand the park to be distinguished and rare, and receive an audience of different ages and nationalities, explaining that he is currently opening the park to visit for free to introduce visitors to different animals, and does not seek to achieve any material income from this hobby, and does not sell animals, what he aims to do is to deepen community awareness of sustainability, especially in light of the UAE's declaration of 2023 as the Year of Sustainability, and to introduce how to care for animals and protect endangered species.

He continued: "Caring for the environment and nature with all its creatures is not new to the UAE, as it derives from the founding father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God rest his soul, who deservedly deserved many international honors and decorations, especially the Golden Panda Award in recognition of his sincere efforts in the fields of nature conservation, combating desertification, developing wildlife and marine life, establishing nature reserves, and encouraging and supporting global research to preserve multiple species of rare animals threatened with global endangerment, such as gazelles. Oryx, Arabian leopard, dugongs and green turtles, as well as advanced programs using the latest technology to breed wild birds, including falcons and bustards."

Security and safety. priority

Al Hammadi added that he is currently adding more equipment to the park, such as building air-conditioned places connected to an open area so that the animal can be exposed to sunlight and the open air, and when it feels hot, it moves to the air-conditioned place, and also equips cages for large animals such as cheetahs, tigers and others, to provide more security and safety, as these cages will be provided with three gates so that food can be placed for animals without danger to their supervisor, stressing that security and safety are a priority for him.

Al-Hammadi brings the animals he acquires from several countries around the world, especially Madagascar and African and Latin countries, explaining that he learned from his uncle how to take care of these animals and birds, and provides them with medical and therapeutic services and vaccination, as well as what they need from special food, as he used to before acquiring any animal or bird to read about it and study on specialized sites and ask the people of knowledge, experience and specialization, and is keen to provide an environment similar to the original environment of the animal so that he seeks to provide what resembles it as much as possible, stressing He has a permit from the competent authorities to breed these animals.

Warning.. and difficulties

Engineer Ahmed Al-Hammadi warned animal lovers against imitating some of those who appear in their videos with wild animals such as lions and tigers, because behind these clips are many difficulties and great risks, pointing out that raising these animals is entertaining at a young age, and when they grow up they become dangerous, and it requires security and safety precautions, experience and knowledge of their nature.

Regarding the difficulties of this hobby, he said that the most prominent of them is the high material cost of owning and caring for animals and providing them with food, as well as providing veterinary care for them because there are many unknown animals and veterinarians do not have experience in dealing with them.

Ahmed Al Hammadi:

• «The park is available to visit for free to introduce visitors to different animals, and I do not seek any financial income from my hobby».

• "My ambition is for the park to expand to be distinct, and to receive an audience of different ages and nationalities."

To watch the video, please click on this link.