Inside the walls of Al Ain Zoo, an incredible 4,000 animals and creatures live on 900-hectare parkland.
There are 200 species – and hundreds of keepers and vets in charge of their welfare.
So how do they manage to keep order, juggle dietary and let visitors interact with everything from a rhino to a big cat?
The National went to the zoo, in the foothills of Jebel Hafeet, to find out.
We only focus on natural behaviours of the animal. We are not a circus, we don't ask animals to do what they don't normally do
We begin our tour with the skilled keepers that train and manage the welfare of the nine cheetahs, and we meet three of the fastest – Nazik, Cleo and Firas.
The big cats are from South Africa, and can run at a speed of 112 kilometres per hour.
“They can reach this speed in three seconds – but they also give up very quickly because they don’t want to waste their energy,” said Myyas Qarqaz, general curator at Al Ain Zoo.
“It takes a lot of energy for them to reach that speed so quickly.
As the spectators wait to see the cheetahs run, they are briefed on the significance of the species, which is the fastest mammal on land, and considered 'vulnerable' by the the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species.
When the cheetahs are not exercising, they are trained in ‘positive behaviour’ by the keepers.
This includes performing basic acts such as responding to whistles, obeying commands to go in and out of their sleeping chambers, and receiving medical treatment.
"When you take your pet to the vet for instance, you have to hold them in place to take an injection," said Mr Qarqaz
In a demonstration for The National, the keepers opened a backdoor and signalled for two young cheetahs to enter from the backyard.
The two crawled swiftly inside and sat down in front of the bars waiting to be fed.
“This is called positive reinforcement training," said Mr Qarqaz. "We try to reinforce positive behaviours by rewarding them with something they like, meat, when they demonstrate the task they were asked to do.”
This form of training has replaced “the old concept of forcing animals to do things”, said the general curator.
“At the zoo we only focus on natural behaviours of the animal, we are not a circus, we don’t ask animals to do what they don’t normally do."
In another section of the park, the rhinos are contained using a system called a "tamer", which looks much like a caged corridor, leading from their pen out into the wildlife safari area of the zoo.
Three rhinoceros rested in a small outdoor sandy area, before being led through the corridor and over a metallic platform.
“This is a weighing scale within a tamer system. There is a door at each end so we can restrain them if we need to,” said Mr Qarqaz.
“They are trained to return in the afternoon when we call them."
This simple device avoids the need of chemical substances to quieten the animals every time they need to be examined.
Expansion plans for 2021
By the end of this year, the zoo will open a number of additional wildlife facilities.
Those include Koala Land, the Chimpanzee Forest and a Sand Cat Conservation Centre, plus an elephant safari, a lion safari, a gorilla sanctuary and a reptile park.
The safaris will include activities to enable the public to have close-encounter experiences with the wild animals.
Eco-tourism accommodation is also being put in place, to enable guests to book overnight stays and enjoy activities such as hiking and stargazing in a natural reserve.
Currently, the zoo contains 207 species including 71 mammals, 83 birds, 38 reptiles, and 15 domesticated animals, including camels.
Maintaining the animals requires a team of 150 people, and it is a complex task to ensure each creature thrives in captivity.
One of the biggest challenges faced by the keepers is providing the correct food for each animal.
Last year, more than 2.5 million kilos of feed and forage was needed, including 85,000kg of meat, 25,000kg of fish and shrimps, 24,500kg of frozen mice and chicks, and 225,000kg of fruit and vegetables.
The mental health of the animals is also key, said Mr Qarqaz.
“Taking care of animals in the zoo depends a lot on the species itself, for each group they have their specific husbandry," he said.
Our role is to provide the right habitat for each.
“Our keepers also give the right enrichment to stimulate the mental and psychological behaviour of the animals; so taking care of them is a big story based on the specific needs of each species."
Company profile
Name: Steppi
Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic
Launched: February 2020
Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year
Employees: Five
Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai
Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings
Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Rain Management
Year started: 2017
Based: Bahrain
Employees: 100-120
Amount raised: $2.5m from BitMex Ventures and Blockwater. Another $6m raised from MEVP, Coinbase, Vision Ventures, CMT, Jimco and DIFC Fintech Fund
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
The figures behind the event
1) More than 300 in-house cleaning crew
2) 165 staff assigned to sanitise public areas throughout the show
3) 1,000 social distancing stickers
4) 809 hand sanitiser dispensers placed throughout the venue
What is an ETF?
An exchange traded fund is a type of investment fund that can be traded quickly and easily, just like stocks and shares. They come with no upfront costs aside from your brokerage's dealing charges and annual fees, which are far lower than on traditional mutual investment funds. Charges are as low as 0.03 per cent on one of the very cheapest (and most popular), Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, with the maximum around 0.75 per cent.
There is no fund manager deciding which stocks and other assets to invest in, instead they passively track their chosen index, country, region or commodity, regardless of whether it goes up or down.
The first ETF was launched as recently as 1993, but the sector boasted $5.78 billion in assets under management at the end of September as inflows hit record highs, according to the latest figures from ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five largest providers BlackRock’s iShares, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisers, Deutsche Bank X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
While the best-known track major indices such as MSCI World, the S&P 500 and FTSE 100, you can also invest in specific countries or regions, large, medium or small companies, government bonds, gold, crude oil, cocoa, water, carbon, cattle, corn futures, currency shifts or even a stock market crash.
The five types of long-term residential visas
Obed Suhail of ServiceMarket, an online home services marketplace, outlines the five types of long-term residential visas:
Investors:
A 10-year residency visa can be obtained by investors who invest Dh10 million, out of which 60 per cent should not be in real estate. It can be a public investment through a deposit or in a business. Those who invest Dh5 million or more in property are eligible for a five-year residency visa. The invested amount should be completely owned by the investors, not loaned, and retained for at least three years.
Entrepreneurs:
A five-year multiple entry visa is available to entrepreneurs with a previous project worth Dh0.5m or those with the approval of an accredited business incubator in the UAE.
Specialists
Expats with specialised talents, including doctors, specialists, scientists, inventors, and creative individuals working in the field of culture and art are eligible for a 10-year visa, given that they have a valid employment contract in one of these fields in the country.
Outstanding students:
A five-year visa will be granted to outstanding students who have a grade of 95 per cent or higher in a secondary school, or those who graduate with a GPA of 3.75 from a university.
Retirees:
Expats who are at least 55 years old can obtain a five-year retirement visa if they invest Dh2m in property, have savings of Dh1m or more, or have a monthly income of at least Dh20,000.
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Mountain%20Boy
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PRO BASH
Thursday’s fixtures
6pm: Hyderabad Nawabs v Pakhtoon Warriors
10pm: Lahore Sikandars v Pakhtoon Blasters
Teams
Chennai Knights, Lahore Sikandars, Pakhtoon Blasters, Abu Dhabi Stars, Abu Dhabi Dragons, Pakhtoon Warriors and Hyderabad Nawabs.
Squad rules
All teams consist of 15-player squads that include those contracted in the diamond (3), platinum (2) and gold (2) categories, plus eight free to sign team members.
Tournament rules
The matches are of 25 over-a-side with an 8-over power play in which only two fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle. Teams play in a single round robin league followed by the semi-finals and final. The league toppers will feature in the semi-final eliminator.
Ad Astra
Director: James Gray
Stars: Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones
Five out of five stars
Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
Results
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David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
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