Plans have been revealed to open a wildlife park at an eco-tourism centre in Stankovo, Belarus, later this year.

The 4.5sq km (1.7sq m) park will house more than 300 animals made up of European fallow deer, dappled and red deer, roedeer, mouflon wild sheep and a selection of other non-dangerous species. The eco-tourism centre is currently developing and beautifying the wood trails and feeding grounds surrounding it and building game towers to watch the animals. The park will surround the eco-tourism site, also home to 50 species of birds and animals, including ostriches, peacocks, aurochs, lamas, yaks and a bear.

The existing Center of Eco-tourism Stankov, an initiative of poultry farmers Agrokombinat Dzerzhinsky OAO and the Belarusian Museum of the Great Patriotic War, allows visitors to explore a former partisan camp dating back to 1939, visit a historic 500-year-old oak tree, see a military historical complex and the residence of Father Frost – a Russian fairy tale character from the 1800s. The centre also features a sauna, restaurant, café, 4D cinema and a shooting gallery.

In addition to the plans, an off-road park will be built to cater to extreme drivers, while cars, quad bikes and buggies will be available for rental on-site. There are also plans to open an economy-class hotel in the future.

Once the safari park is fully open, visitor numbers have been predicted to see a significant increase on last year’s figure of 155,000 people.