Avilon Zoo

Last weekend I decided to see the zoo again. The last time I went to the zoo was about the same time last year so I thought they might have something new. But even if there wasn't anything new, I still would have wanted to see the same animals, especially the big cats.


Another reason is for some unfinished business with the White Tiger.

These Arapaimas are always the first ones to greet you at Avilon.
These semi-endangered specie of freshwater fish is the largest in the world.
Each one of these babies measure about two meters in length. 

There are two zoos within Metro Manila --Manila Zoo and Malabon Zoo. These zoos are notoriously known for leaving their animals in such poor conditions. When I checked the internet and saw a frail and rather emaciated tiger in Malabon Zoo and a lonely elephant in Manila zoo (the elephant's name is Mali, observed to show signs of depression and psychological stress being the only elephant in the zoo since the 1980's <http://zoonewsdigest.blogspot.com/2010/01/manila-zoos-elephant.html>), I didn't even want to look. I love animals too much that I knew going there would only make me feel depressed. 


That's why I choose to go to Avilon Zoo, located outside Metro Manila. It's in Rodriguez in the Rizal Province, about a couple of hours drive from where I live. The road is unimaginable but the trip is always worth it.

A male Urangutan captured with a rare grin on his face.

It being isolated from the city, the animals are still kept in a pollution-free environment. They are kept in cages with a lot of room to run in. And they also look well-fed and healthy.


The first time I was there, it was in the summer of last year and the animals were out in the open to cool down. And so I saw most of the animals. During my first trip, I found the lion most amazing, but they had cut his hair really short, since he had pediculosis (a sweet term for lice infestation! LOL). I wanted so much to see the white tiger but this big cat is very shy and so I left Avilon Zoo without seeing it, but I thought, "I saw a lion, a jaguar, a leopard and the smaller "big" cats like the black panther, bobcat, clouded leopard and lynx, so that would do for now".

An unknown red arachnid (top) and a tamed albino
Burmese python (bottom) you can put on your shoulder.

Six months later I went over there with my mum and my brother and I was able to see a cougar family. A mummy cougar with three cute and healthy cubs. I was also able to carry a boa constrictor on my shoulder. And I also put a huge Hawk Owl and an even bigger Philippine Eagle on my right arm, but no White Tiger. But with everything I did in the zoo that day, I thought, "That would do for now."

There were about a hundred of these marine iguanas in the zoo.
If they were so much bigger, there'd be a Godzilla invasion.

The sun shone early in the morning but just as we stepped out of the house, it started to rain. There was no sign of the sun at all but we drove on. Two hours later and three rivers later, the road was impassable. The river had overflown onto the road. Good thing there was a bridge not far from where we were, that lead us to the same direction. And so we crossed the last river, which was just the beginning of the challenge. And now the rough and muddy terrain. Thank  God four-wheel drives were invented and we arrived at the zoo safe. Lucky enough for me, I wasn't driving!

A Jaguar. The third largest cat in the world and the best looking too.

We got off and were happy to know none of the fees have changed. The rain had stopped but the sun was nowhere in sight. And so we started touring the site. Most of the animals hid in their cage caves because of the cold temperature so only a few animals were in the open.

The King of the jungle, relaxing in his den.

I saw the exact same animals though. The lion had grown some hair around his neck, just as I wanted him to look like. The only thing that disappointed me, (just a little bit) was, due to the weather, his fur had gone a little darker. He used to look like Simba to me, now he looks a little like Scar (remember Lion King?!? C'mon!). I shook hands with Trixie again, the little Urangutan who sat in the same spot to greet visitors. I saw the same jaguar, same cute little fennec foxes and the same boring little birds.

The cougar cubs have grown so large and handsome!

I put the White Tiger's cage last on my itinerary. I went on to see some more reptiles and arachnids I wasn't able to see, or didn't pay much attention to, in my previous trips. I put a yellow Burmese python around my shoulder and patted a cute ram at the animal nursery.


And then I was left with nowhere else to go but the White Tiger's cage. From a distance, I could already see its cage. I felt excited to see people hovering around it. And so I had to see what the commotion was about. Lo and behold the White Tiger! It was a massive male white tiger, prancing around, as if showing off his beautiful white fur to his audience.

The White Tiger wasn't so shy after all.
He walked around and stared at his audience with his very light gray eyes.

The male white tiger we saw was indeed the largest cat in the zoo. He was significantly larger than the Bengal tiger (the orange one) or the lion. That did it for me! Despite the weather, I can say it was my best trip to the zoo ever!




Notes: Equipment: Nikon D90 & Nikon D5100 w/ 18-55mm VR lens and 55-200 mm VR lens respectively. The pictures don't look at all dark and gloomy despite the weather, thanks to Nikon D5100's low noise at high ISO feature! Just top notch! I love Nikon in general but D5100 does it best in low lighting.