11 reasons to visit Emirates Park Zoo in Abu Dhabi

ATTRACTIONS: Emirates Park Zoo and Resort is one of Abu Dhabi’s most popular attractions for both residents and tourists. It's a great all-year-round family activity, so why should you visit? Well, here are the reasons why:

EDUCATION: The park has a large animal theatre in which groups of children – and adults! – are shown exotic animals such as baby crocodiles and falcons. You'll almost certainly come away learning something new.

EXERCISE: As we’re in the throws of winter, it’s the perfect time to get outdoors and breathe some fresh air away from the city. Children can run around and enjoy the adventure park, burning off much of that stored-up energy. There are plenty of shaded areas and seating for weary-legged adults.

ELEPHANT EXPERIENCE: Fancy feeding an elephant? Well good news, you can! Madu and Rada are a pair of lively Indian elephants and enjoy nothing more than munching on foliage.

GIRAFFE FEEDING: Climb the steps to new heights and feed one of the park’s friendly giraffes a handful of plants. Standing nearly five metres tall and weighing up to 1,200kg, it’ll make for a tricky selfie.

CROCODILE FEEDING: They’ve been around since the age of the dinosaurs, and there aren’t many beasts as scary as the many-toothed crocodile. Emirates Park Zoo has two Nile Crocs, and they feed them at 4pm on Fridays and Saturday– not to be missed if you can stomach it. You will also get a question and answer session with the zoo keeper about the Nile creatures, their habitats, natural behaviors and the dangers they face in the wildlife, as well as the chance to hold a baby crocodile.

BREAKFAST WITH THE PARROTS: After an introductory briefing, you will have a special opportunity to meet and feed the Tropical Birds. A tasty breakfast will be served in an amazing location. You will also get chance to ask one of the parrot’s trainers any questions you may have. By buying this for yourself or for someone else, not only will it be an experience to remember but you will also be contributing to conservation work both here and around the world helping, to save animals from extinction.

THE BIG CAT EXPERIENCE: Emirates Park Zoo is home to a very unique experience: Lunch with Leopard. This experience allows you to get closer for this fast and furious, astoundingly strong amazing animal. Share a lunch with pound for pound and the strongest of all big cats.

AZONTO DRUM AND DANCE TEAM: It’s not just animals at the zoo, as the park’s resident band is on hand to brighten your day with traditional African music. Coming from Ghana, the lively group gets the crowd involved, and sometimes the animals join in too!

THE SEA LION SHOW: Swanny, Songa, and Still are the park’s three resident sea lions. Their famous shows include juggling, break-dancing, and flipper standing. Their shows run for 20 minutes at scheduled times throughout the day.

MEET OTTO, AT THE HIPPO HOUSE: Emirates Park Zoo announced the opening of the Hippo House, home to a 6-year old hippopotamus that goes by the name Otto. The African Hippo weighing more than 2,000 kg is all sorts of adorable.

ANIMALS. We’ve saved this one for last. The best, and seemingly most obvious, reason to visit Emirates Park Zoo is to enjoy the animals. Walk around the park at your own pace learning more about your favourite members of the animal kingdom. Whether you're interested in lions from the African Savannah or chickens from the farm, there is something for everyone to enjoy.