Where learning is mind-blowing fun
By Ethel D. Maminta
The saltwater crocodile belonged to "running priest" Fr. Robert Reyes before it grew too big for him to take care of. Now the huge animal is one of the most amazing sights in the Avilon Montalban Zoological Park.
Likewise, the Sumatran Tiger also had a previous owner before she was turned over to the zoo for proper care. They named her "Ruffa" as she arrived while the popular TV personality was getting a very public wedding.
These two are among the few exceptions in Avilon Zoo, as many of the animals here began as beloved pets of one passionate person -- Jake Gaw. Before the zoo was formally turned into one under the Avilon Wildlife Conservation Foundation, Inc., it was first a pet project of this one dedicated individual.
He loved birds and reptiles and mammals and fish. He bought a 7.5 hectare property ten years ago and started building it to be the home of his beloved creatures. It was not open to the public, it was not originally intended to be.
But people came knocking on its gates. Friends wanted to see and visit. Then more friends. And friends of friends. Word spread and appointments were constantly asked to be set. A feature on a television show and its destiny was settled -- the public will have its viewing.
Today, Avilon seems to be on the mind, and lips, of bored and stressed-out urbanites, families and even schools out looking for educational trips. Here's an alternative to the endless malling, they say. Everyone is either planning to visit or have already visited. They've all heard from someone or other that it's "different" and a "must see". It's not the typical caged-animals-all-in-a-row that most people have seen in the past. Those places where animals look sad and sickly. Here, the animals are loved with a passion, taken cared of as best as professionals and vets can. With stylized quarters, and bigger spaces (of course, never as big as freedom though).
Almost all agree -- it's wonderful to have such a facility within reach. Not an easy reach, no, but still within reach.
THE ROAD TO AVILON
It's a longish drive from Metro Manila, anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half to get to Montalban. And Montalban streets are densely populated and traffic is unpredictable. So that could be another 30 minutes to traverse the town maze. Plus, the last stretch to the zoo -- past the river -- is a dirt road. Still, for animal lovers, the drive is soon forgotten.
Upon entering the grounds, there's already a "Jurassic Park" feel to it. Pay the PhP200 entrance fee and you get to go with a guide around the zoo for a minimum two hours of walking. That is, after the house rules are laid down, of course: No eating during the tour, no feeding the animals, no teasing the animals, no flash cameras in some portions.
This is first and foremost a conservation and education facility after all. Recreation and infotainment follows as a poor third. The zoo's goal is to propagate and establish breeding programs for vulnerable and endangered endemic species.
Plus, education is the key element. In knowing more about animals and ecology, people will get to appreciate and understand the need to protect them and maintain the balance in the environment. That is one reason why no one is allowed to go through the park without the guides. The guides provide the information, the stories that the animals tell us without which people may harbor the wrong notion that the animals are "clowns" who are there only to entertain them.
The information is chewable and -- when presented with the real, living, breathing creature right in front of you -- full of impact.
Case in point are the 200 species of birds found in the zoo, starting with the huge swans that meander along the lagoon right at the entrance. The gamut of sizes -- from the even bigger ostriches, and the impressive eagles, to the puny finches -- are amazingly varied. For another big bird, check out the Cassowary, which is another big flightless bird that are usually found in rainforests. This strange-looking bird with its bright blue bald neck and jet black feathers that look more like long strands of hair, also wears a distinctly unique "helmet" on it's equally bald head.
It soon becomes clear to every visitor that aside from the size, the various forms and colors found in the animal kingdom are simply dumbfounding. Saying how a nicobar pigeon doesn't look like any average pigeon that a person's imagination can conjure simply cannot come close to actually looking at a nicobar pigeon and seeing how impossibly different and beautiful it is.
Even those big all white graceful beautiful birds who look like they were all dressed up for their wedding seemed surreal. Not to mention all those crazy colored birds which look like walking palettes right out of an over the top Versace catalogue, alongside regal looking birds in classic timeless patterns of such delicate details. They can blow your mind.
And speaking of blowing your mind, try spending some moments with the Malayan Tapir. Its distinctive black and white colors combined with Seussian confluence of features from various animals makes it a wonder to behold. Of course, for wondrous beholding, the big cats have always been big favorites. Mountain lions, a tiger, a leopard, a jaguar -- all easily and automatically elicit awe at their beauty. They are simply beautiful creatures.
Or maybe you just want to see the world's largest rodent, the capybara, which looks like a giant guinea pig?
STRANGE AND UNIQUE
All that strangeness spells a great trip. For another mind-blowing exercise, try catching a glimpse of the two pairs of Arapaimas in the lagoon. These are 8-foot long freshwater fish that can easily be mistaken for lost mermaids. Those scales are mesmerizing anyway. There's another big one at the lion's moat that lucky visitors sometimes get a peek at. It is said that in their natural habitat in the Amazon, these fish will leap out of the water to grab small birds off of overhanging trees.
Of the about 500 animal species found in the zoo, more than half of them are endemic to the Philippines. The Balabac mouse deer, for instance, whose population is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN, the world's smallest hoofed mammal, came from Palawan. You'll also find the Palawan tree shrew, the Philippine Eagle Owl, and lots more endemic bird species.
There are still some development works being done around the property and the zoo is still planning to acquire large mammals but already, it is an impressive collection and the walking tour notably burn a lot of calories.
For guests to recharge after all that exertion and excitement, the zoo's large pavilion near the entrance and in front of the lagoon, has a food and beverages outlet where visitors can have refreshments. There they can sit and relax, and maybe talk about the most striking animals they've just seen. It's probably safe to assume that by then, everyone would be all walked out, ready to go home, content and happy to have spent a fruitful day away from the concrete jungle of the metro. One thing's for sure, though, there'll be tons of great photos to show everyone and keep as reminder of that special trip to the zoo.
Its after you've gone home, when you're walking around the city again, that you realize how that visit changed you. You notice things now that you never noticed before. You notice birds as they sit on a tree or swoop down onto the road for a quick peck. You take a moment and you actually look at it. It may be the kind you've never seen before and you're suddenly amazed all over again. There are lots of life around us, a visit to the zoo teaches us, and we'll see it if we take the time to look.
Aside from the amusement city life tries to ram down throats, there's still amazement to be found in those pocket moments when realization -- that recognition of another's life -- hits us.
(Avilon Montalban Zoological Park is located at Bo. San Isidro, Rodriguez, Province of Rizal. Their contact number is (632) 634-5550.)
related link:http://www.geocities.com/avilon_zoo/
