Meet the man who built Dubai Zoo

Austrian Tomislaf Johann Bulart, who worked with his father to shape the Arab world's first zoo, talks about a dream gone wrong


This is the story of Dubai Zoo, the first zoo in the Arabian Peninsula - who thought of it, how it began, how it grew. The story is being told by the man who first dreamt of a zoo in the heart of a desert: Tomislaf Johann Bulart.

In an exclusive interview with Gulf News, Tomislaf, a frequent Austrian visitor to Dubai, remembered how it began. He first visited Dubai in 1962 when he was 24. "I came to enjoy some diving in the clear waters and also to visit my father," he explained.

His father, Otto Johann Bulart, came from Austria to Dubai in 1958. He lived and worked here for years before passing away in Austria in 1997. In Dubai, he worked for the Overseas Ast, an Austrian contracting company, the firm that made Dubai Creek. He also worked as an adviser to Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the late Ruler of Dubai, on construction matters.

Tomislaf came back to live in this city in 1964. "We were living in Nasser Square in Sheikha Latifa building, the first three-storey modern building in Dubai," he said.

"We were living on the third floor and we had a big terrace. I loved animals so started collecting them. Soon I had mountain sheep, a gazelle, baboons, monkeys, parrots and many kinds of fish and reptiles, all living on this terrace. "People heard about my animals and many soon began to visit me simply to see my little zoo in the house."

In 1965, Tomislaf said, the Director General of Dubai Municipality became interested in his zoo. "Gamal Hamza suggested that I build a real zoo in the city. That had always been my dream, to build a zoo. I didn't have the money. But that didn't stop us.

"The Director General, my father and I began sketching plans for a zoo, looking at several photographs of other zoos for reference. My father took a plan and went to the Middle East Bank to borrow money for the zoo. That time, Essa Saleh Al Gurg was the bank manager. He took our request to Sheikh Rashid who agreed to donate us the land for the zoo. Al Gurg himself was ready to support us financially."

They were given nearly two hectares in Jumeirah for the zoo — where Dubai Zoo still stands. "Ahmed Moosa, the private secretary of Sheikh Rashid, took us to see the land. Those days, Jumeirah was like the end of the town and there were only a few small bungalows around the plot," Tomislaf remembered.

"We looked at the plot marked for us and saw it was a sandy area near the beach. A few trees — date palms, ghaf and salam — grew. When I returned, my father and I started thinking of what kinds of animals the zoo should home.

"I wanted to have animals that once lived in this area and then had moved away or become extinct, like the barbarian lion. My plan was to bring them from their countries of origin such as Africa. I dreamt of breeding the endangered animals. I also wanted to show salt and fresh water animal and plant life. I thought people would like to see ornamental fresh water fish because at that time no one had seen them before."

In the summer of 1967, the first zoo in the heart of an Arabian desert was born: Sheikh Rashid opened The Jumeirah Zoo Aquarium.

"It was built at a total cost of 5,000 rupees (the currency then). Visitors came every Thursday and Friday paying one and a half rupee to enter. Yes, people came, but not as many as we expected. Probably they didn't like the tiny ornamental fish that we had got from South America. They wanted big animals. They wanted to see only elephants, giraffes, bears and lions."

But Tomislaf did not lose heart. He continued to import animals from all over the world, with financial support from Sheikh Rashid. He also paid for some animals himself.

After the first two years, the zoo housed five lions, two chimpanzees, monkeys and baboons, hoofed animals and one snake, among a few other animals. There was also a small aquarium with some ornamental fish.

Soon, the financial pressures of running Dubai zoo began to crush Tomislaf. "I was married with three children and I needed to feed them. All the money I was earning was going to keep up the zoo," he said.

"I was working as a diver. In 1969, I returned to Austria because I had to take care of my family and just could not afford to run the zoo any longer. My father ran it for some time with two Austrian friends, Horst and Annemarie Kauch. In 1971, Dubai Municipality took over the zoo," Tomislaf said.

The Austrian keeps coming back to this city, tied to it by business and emotional threads. He has never seen the zoo again but has heard about it. And is not happy with what he has heard. "Dubai needs a bigger and more modern zoo urgently. I just cannot understand how so many animals are being kept in such a small place," he said.

"I had a beautiful dream once. But that dream collapsed. I hope a new and better zoo can continue the dream."


MEMORIES

Tomislaf Johann Bulart remembers a time when life in the UAE was simple. "There were plenty of divers, but no one used modern equipment. We spent six weeks in Khorfakkan once, diving as much as we could. The water was clear, very peaceful and wonderful. Every night we had fish or lobster for dinner that I had caught from the clear, shallow waters," he said.

"Everything was beautiful. The natural bay, the sand and the fish. I feel that modern civilisation has spoilt that beauty now."

After spending four months in the UAE in 1962, Tomislaf returned to Austria to complete his qualifications as a helicopter pilot. He returned to Dubai in 1964 and stayed on until 1969.

"I brought my wife and my four-year-old daughter to Dubai. The city then only meant the area of Deira. We had no supermarkets and we visited the local souqs to buy everything. We did not have too many things from other countries, but there was always enough to eat."

Tomislaf has been a regular visitor since 1969 and is amazed at the growth of the country. "But I believe the earlier UAE was more beautiful. It was like living in a dream. It's impossible to describe it; you will only know what it was like if you lived here then," he stressed.