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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Animal lover turns hobby into running private zoo

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BARKA: Al Nu’man Park, located in the Wilayat of Barka in the village of Al Nu’man near Al Nu’man Heritage House, is one of the rare parks that contains many attractions for tourists and visitors.


The 10,000-square meter park, in addition to a parking space, was opened on 18th November 2009.


Ahmed bin Abdul Rahim al Balushi, owner of the park, said “The idea of establishing Al Nu’man Park came because of my hobby of bringing animals that have been in my possession for more than 20 years. I brought a number of animals, especially rare and beautiful ones from the Sultanate, from the GCC and other Asian countries and kept them in my own farm. When I grew up, I started to make cages and put the animals in those cages. Then I got the idea of a zoo, and at that time the area of my farm was very small, so I bought a number of neighbouring farms.”


The purpose of the zoo is to make people happy by watching different animals. The country is in need of such rare recreational space for families and children to know about the animals.


Al Balushi said: “There are different kinds of animals in the park, including predators, and domesticated animals, in addition to reptiles and birds. There is a lion and a leopard (I bought from Italy), as well as hyenas, foxes, nymphs, various snakes, crocodiles and several species of monkeys, some of them bred in the garden, in addition to the rare animals like raccoons, deer, horses and other animals.”


He added, “Birds are many, including chickens, ducks, geese, ostriches and peacocks, which vary according to their source. They spread throughout the garden. There are also rare and colourful birds, eagles and falcons. I put a short profile about each animal in front of each cage, so that visitors, particularly schoolchildren, come to know about these animals.”


On the maintenance of the zoo, Al Balushi said, “The park employs a number of workers, who take care of all animals of the park. There is contact with veterinarians in order to ensure the health of animals and to carry out periodic checks. As for feeding of some predators, such as the lion and the tiger, we need 8 kg of meat daily.”


He pointed out that the park has a restroom and accommodation for visitors from outside the Wilayat of Barka at nominal prices. He added that there are all facilities, such as a swimming pool, a special place for barbecue, in addition to a number of restaurants and shops.


He added that recently a special section has been added for heritage items, a permanent exhibition in which all kinds of old coins, postage stamps, traditional old clothes, old machines, such as sewing machines and various photocopiers, and copies of the old Omani newspapers are displayed in order to introduce the Omani heritage to visitors from inside and outside the Sultanate.


Al Balushi said that the total cost of the project, so far has reached more than RO 1.5 million.


The opening dates of the park to visitors starting from 9 am to 9 pm with nominal entry fees used to ensure the costs of taking care of the animals like eating, drinking, veterinary inspection, cleaning and others. — ONA


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