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CATHERINE W GICHUKI
DOHA
A MINI zoo is one of the major attractions at the Summer Entertainment City, Qatar Summer Festival's (QSF) centrepiece at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center (DECC).
The mini zoo is a children's delight giving them a chance to see and interact with animals such as ponies, rabbits, kangaroo, various breeds of sheep including jacob, cameroon and pygmy, different kinds of goats, alpaca and tortoise, among others.
The visitors also get a chance to feed the animals. The entry fee to the zoo is QR20, in addition to QR5 for the animal feed. Children who are willing to ride on the ponies have to pay QR30 for five rounds. The Summer Entertainment City is delivered by QSports.
Talking about the mini zoo, QSports Founder and Board Member Adil Ahmed said,"Initially, we were not sure whether having live animals at Entertainment City would work well for QSF. However, the concept was given to us and we decided to try it out. Today, we are happy to see the response it has evoked from the visitors."
"Pony rides are busy from 2pm to 11pm. Visitors also enjoy watching tortoise, kangaroo, alpaca and rabbits. Kids also get a chance to cuddle rabbits, which is great fun for them," Ahmed added.
According to an official at the mini zoo, they will showcase different animals and breeds after every two weeks."Next time we will bring llama, ostrich and peacock, among others. We want the children to know more about animals."
Ahmad, a visitor who had brought his daughter to the zoo to ride on the pony and see the animals said,"My daughter loves animals and she is excited to be here. It's good to bring such a facility close to the people."
"We are so grateful to the organisers for bringing these animals here. People, especially children,can learn a lot about animals at the mini zoo," said another visitor.
The Summer Entertainment City is open daily from 2pm to 11pm. An individual entry ticket costs QR15 and a day pass is available for QR150. Individual game prices range from QR10 to QR35. The festival will continue until August 31.
Qatar Summer Festival is organised by Qatar Tourism Authority under the theme 'Colour Your Summer'.
