The Ramat Gan Safari, officially known as the Zoological Center of Tel Aviv-Ramat Gan, is a safari park

Safari park

A safari park, sometimes known as a wildlife park, is a zoo-like commercial tourist attraction where visitors can drive in their own vehicles or ride in vehicles provided by the facility to observe freely roaming animals...

 and zoo

Zoo

A zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....

 in Ramat Gan, Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

. It opened to the general public in 1974 as an Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

n animal park. In 1981, a zoo was established in the middle of the park to replace the former Tel Aviv Zoo

Tel Aviv Zoo

The Tel Aviv Zoo was a zoo founded in 1938 and located in central Tel Aviv, Israel. The zoo was closed in 1981 and now the Gan Ha'Ir shopping mall occupies this site.-History:...

, which had closed down.

Ramat Gan Safari covers an area of 250 acres (1 km²), and has 1,600 animals of different species: 68 species of mammals, about 130 species of birds, and about 25 species of reptiles.

It has the largest collection of species in the Middle East

Middle East

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

, many of which roam freely in the park. Among others, Ramat Gan Safari has African and Asian elephant

Asian Elephant

The Asian or Asiatic elephant is the only living species of the genus Elephas and distributed in Southeast Asia from India in the west to Borneo in the east. Three subspecies are recognized — Elephas maximus maximus from Sri Lanka, the Indian elephant or E. m. indicus from mainland Asia, and E. m....

s, hippo

Hippo

A hippo or hippopotamus is either of two species of large African mammal which live mainly in and near water:* Hippopotamus* Pygmy HippopotamusHippo may also refer to:-Given names:...

s, gorilla

Gorilla

Gorillas are the largest extant species of primates. They are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies...

s, orangutan

Orangutan

Orangutans are the only exclusively Asian genus of extant great ape. The largest living arboreal animals, they have proportionally longer arms than the other, more terrestrial, great apes. They are among the most intelligent primates and use a variety of sophisticated tools, also making sleeping...

, and lion

Lion

The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...

s.

Ramat Gan Safari participates in several breeding programs and research projects.

The Ramat Gan Safari has sent animals to the Kalkilya Zoo and maintains close ties with the veterinarians in the Palestinian Authority.

External links

• Official website
• Zoo website- by ERETZ, the Magazine of Israel