Revisiting Manila Zoo: More than childhood reminiscing

A friend of mine, Christine, wanted to re-visit Manila Zoo to reminisce her childhood. She imagined herself walking around the area, holding a big balloon resembled to an animal. For her, this visit served as a way of what was it like to be childlike again. Her suggestion of visiting the zoo was a way to relieve stress as well as spend some quality time with friends. I, together with my other friends (Crystal and Frida), being the supportive peers, bought her idea of going back to the zoo. Thinking of how many times I have visited Manila Zoo, I realized that I did not have photos of my visit. So, the idea of revisiting the zoo was excellent to document this trip. I may never know, it might be the last time that I will be visiting the first zoo in the country. I hope it will not be the case.

It was a sunny afternoon of March 7, 2015 when we revisited Manila Zoo. Upon entering the zoo, I was a bit surprised to see the entrance fee. My last visit of the zoo was in 2001 for a school project and the fee then, did not even reach a hundred pesos for non-Manila resident. Now, if you are a non-Manila resident and you like to visit Manila Zoo, prepare a hundred bucks to pay for your entrance. Well, it's 2015 already, so it is expected that fees gone higher for a reason.

Manila Zoo's Glory Days

Let me share a little bit of history about Manila Zoo.

Manila Zoo also known as Manila Zoological and Botanical Garden was opened to the public on July 25, 1959 during the administration of former Manila City Mayor Arsenio H. Lacson. Located along Quirino Avenue corner Adriatico Street at Malate, Manila, the zoo housed different kinds of animal and plant species and served as a tourist attraction of the said city. The zoo became popular  with the presence of its lone elephant in the country, Mali.

According to internet sources, Mali, the elephant, was transported from Sri Lanka to the Philippines after being poached from the wild. She has been living her life in the zoo for more than 40 years (By the way, Mali is a female elephant). Animal advocates have been vocal of  letting Mali out of Manila Zoo and be transferred to a better natural habitat, where she can freely live and mingle with other elephants. As of this writing, Mali is still under the care of Manila Zoo administration.

Mali and her encounter with the tourists of Manila Zoo

Re-exploring Manila Zoo

Our zoo adventure began. I, together with my good college friends, re-explored this animal park once again. All of us, felt like we were in an educational tour, just like before. Seeing these animals again gave us the chance to look back, re-familiarize and re-learn their names and their breed. We could still recall some of the animals; however, identifying their differences from the others, seemed to be difficult. Nonetheless, being at the zoo with the company of my friends was an interesting yet fun activity to do. With this activity, we were able to spend our quality time together by learning new things as well as reliving childhood activities. Moreover, spending some leisure time at the zoo led us in embracing our childlike ways. Also, this gave us the room to improve our skills in photography and videography as we took photos and videos of these creatures.

Again, like what I have said in my previous blog, I am thankful to the people behind improving and developing our technology.  Handheld smartphones were our primary tool in capturing the extinction of these animals as well as reliving our moments in the zoo. With this, it is my pleasure to share to you some photos of the existing animals in Manila Zoo.

Ostrich's long, slender neck

I'm coming- Turtle

Snake's attack

Slow down, turtles ahead!

behind the bars -tiger

Fierce look of the wide-eyed owl

Gentle white pigeon

It's showtime - peacock

My hopes for Manila Zoo

I am truly blessed to see these creatures again. They are created by God for a special purpose; thus, appreciating their extinction and caring for them, are, indeed, necessary. I hope that the City Government of Manila will continue to support improvement efforts in making Manila Zoo become a world-class attraction. Also, I hope that other non-government organization will extend its help in regaining Manila Zoo's lost glory which it had enjoyed in the past decades so the future generation can still see for themselves.

For me, this afternoon leisure trip in the zoo with my friends, is a worthwhile activity to be done, once in a while.

Until my next shoot and scribble!


-Riz-