This Sunday we decided to see some wild life from a local zoo called Manila Zoo . The zoo opened in 1959 here you would see different species of wild life both local and imported. When I was a kid I remember being excited to see wildlife which I only saw on television when I was young. I recall there used to be giraffes, hippos, rhinoceros, kangaroos and camels at this zoo back then. As told it was due to mismanagement of the zoo as animals were not taken care of properly. We went there to see how the zoo was doing after a few decades.
This is Maali a 43 year old Asian elephant which is the oldest resident in the zoo. Probably some of you may know her as the loneliest elephant in the world. Lots of criticism and petition involving Peta has been on going to free Maali and take her to a sanctuary in Thailand. According to the administration Maali is taken care of properly but I think she should be out there with other elephants. Being alone in a concrete pen for decades is sad. In my research some said that she would not survive out in the wild after being alone for a long time. If that is the case maybe they should improve her living quarters. I'm no expert but for me I felt depressed seeing Maali in such a way. A beautiful creature should be out there in the wild with her kind.
Welcome to Jurassic Park. This is a Cassowary kinda remind me of raptors. A shy bird but can cause serious injury. I had to take a couple of shots as the bird always turned it's back. Also there were two ostriches on the other pens.
Next was the reptile exhibit. There were turtles, iguanas , snakes and crocodiles on display. I'm not sure why I didn't get some shot of some snakes. Isn't it ironic?
I'm not sure if this is an alligator but I may say. This is the fattest one I have ever seen just look at it. I'm not sure what they feed him?
This one I didn't notice right away. If I was walking along a river it probably has eaten me already.
I was told this is an albino crocodile and a lot of people was checking it out. Though I see some black marks on it's back does it still count as an albino?
This animal is called a Hebra. A cross between a male horse and a female zebra looks like a horse but with stripes like a zebra. This animal fascinated me and I thought was some sort of a rare species. I didn't even know an animal like this existed and I was pleased there were like three of them if I counted correctly. Their living area was large with plenty of space to move around and was natural as it could be. There were also deer and some sort of cows but was smaller.
These were the small cows I saw didn't know what they were called and couldn't find the sign on the pen. Anyway cows will be cows.
There were also some sleeping tigers and lions. The pens they were in look adequate enough for them. But not sure why they are all asleep during the afternoon.
Didn't expect to see a male lion here which was also fast asleep came back a couple of times but was still enjoying his nap time. While taking some shots a group of was shouting try to wake up the lion which I didn't mind. What ticked me off is when they started to throw coins at him. I was upset and on the back of my mind I was thinking what if I put you inside that pen see if you could throw some coins at him. I know it's not right to think that way. I gave them the eye and they left. You can't just throw stuff at animals especially the king of the jungle. He's already locked up in a pen and just taking a nap. Why would people do that?
Now this section of the zoo changed my mood. This tiger was in a smaller pen and what follows on display was heart breaking.
I felt like I was visiting a prison cell. Cell after cell monkeys in small dirty cages I could see in their eyes the sadness of their everyday life. I don't know if it's temporary or how long have they been there but there were some monkey pens that had plenty of space to move around. These ones were very depressing and I had to move on. I somehow felt it was not fun anymore and was not a happy place. Though people were happy taking selfies an photos with them. I was depressed but too early to judge as I do not know how they run things. I hope they would improve how they keep the animals. If it's too crowded maybe transfer them somewhere with a lot of space or better yet set them free.
This animal is called Palawan Bear Cat which are related to civets. It's population is declining and on the Red list already. I hope they do something about it as these are beautiful creatures.
This zoo is also a Botanical Garden with a lot of trees like this one.
Another section of the zoo showcases ducks, peacocks and different sorts of birds. Which I wasn't able to take time checking the names of each. But is was amazing seeing different species with stunning colors and different behaviors.
A lot of visitors during Sunday families spending time together and some even had a picnic there. It is a fun place to be in especially when you are a kid but some of the pens really got me down. I was thinking if it was just me or other people thought of the same way as I did.
Lot of stalls also selling toys and food which excites the kids even more. It's one way of people earning a living at this place.
While I was on my way back as we were about to go home. I saw this wishing well and threw a couple of coins and wished this could be a better place and give the animals a better life.
This is one of the attractions a reminder of the giraffe that used to live in this zoo. I believe it's already prohibited to import giraffes due to a petition. Well I think that is for the best. I visited Sydney Zoo years back and saw some giraffes and the pen holding them was huge and the space was very wide.
This concludes my visit to this zoo. I am just sharing my opinion in what I see and feel. Again I say I do not know how they run the place and I know this place is a source of income for some families. I just want to say that it can be improved. I've seen a zoo from Australia and it was a nice place and somehow didn't feel depressed when I left. I hope it would change and somehow be a place that we could be truly proud of.
My Share for #BeautifulSunday initiated by @ace108
