Manila Zoo

Beautiful Toucan from Manila Zoo

Manila Zoo is one Iconic Landmark the Philippine’s Capital can offer as supposed to be another place for tourists to enjoy.

I don’t usually post negative features on this family friendly website, but this case is different. I think the animals in Manila Zoo are crying for an urgent attention from our local officials.

It has already been broadcasted to the news that Mali the lone elephant of the Manila Zoo is on its poor condition that’s why we’ve decided to pay some visit, take pictures and see for ourselves about Mali’s current situation. I am not an animal expert but I’m pretty sure that Mali is jaded on the secluded and cemented area.  She’s currently being contained let alone that she’s been there all by herself for years and you add the noisy crowd that is visiting her every day.

Mali

PETA actually suggests that Mali be taken back to the jungle somewhere in Thailand. Unfortunately at her age; the official says that Mali might not be able to survive the trip and I somehow agree to the reality that she’s too old for that kind of stress. I’m sure that this debate is going to take long and consequently time consuming, I assumed it will count months if not years of throwing stones before the final decision would have been made for Mali, and yet it is the elephant that is suffering on her current condition while the people decides for her fate, so why not do Mali a favor and give her a better place on the zoo where she could at least enjoy her stay. This Elephant Mali serves us for years now, almost her entire life. She’s been part of our childhood exploration so I think Mali deserves more than what she’s getting today. I have actually envisioned a temporary sanctuary for Mali while she’s staying in Manila Zoo, I know it’s going to cost a lot, but something has to be done since we took the responsibility to keep her… might as well keep her in an upright situation, after-all Mali entertained us in Manila Zoo for about 35 years now and in fact I remembered seeing her as a kid when she is livelier and energetic chasing a Maya bird.

I am not in a position to speak for Mali, I’m just one of the people who as a kid had a great experience and been fascinated with Mali during my first few tours in Manila Zoo, in fact if you would ask the children who just went to Manila Zoo about what animals they saw during their visit, the first one on the list would be the Elephant. I can only say, let’s do something better for Mali, she deserves more. A haven similar to a place like Baluarte ni Chavit.

Primate Area

As we go along, we saw these sets of primates and the first thing I noticed is the cage on which they’re being contained – I wish it could have been bigger. I would actually love to pay more than P50.00 per head entrance on the zoo, just for the assurance that the animals are in good condition.

After passing through the primates, I’m actually missing two giants that I used to see before, where are the Rhino and the Giraffe? Well I think they’re on a better place now. As we keep on walking we saw another familiar giant, there’s this lone

Hippo

Hippo on a filthy pond, and he’s so ashamed of his situation that he didn’t even want to show his face on the camera. And I also remember that there are two of them before, I wonder what happened to the animals that used to be there.

As we proceed, at least we found tigers playing and walking around their underground den; although I’m missing another big named beast… where’s the king of the Jungle? Did he die too? While we delight in watching these big cats doing their thing, they seemed to look healthy and well fed.

Tiger from Manila Zoo

But I noticed something again – there’s this tiger that is eating the plants on the wall and I learned before that when cats eat herbs, it only means one thing, he’s sick.

I think Manila Zoo and the animals on the premises needs more dedicated attention. The Kinder Zoo inside the facility is quite alarming also, judging the up-to-the-minute situation we’ve witnessed during our visit; they look way better few years ago. The birds, the reptiles and even the star Pig. I’m not sure if the boar we saw is just taking a nap or just being lazy during our visit, but compare to her previous shots and the latest one that I took… (Will upload the video on www.youtube.com/peektravel soon) and you be the judge.

This is a shout out for Manila Zoo particularly the Megastar of the beast, Mali. I think it would be best if Mali could actually say, It’s More Fun in the Philippines!

Mali

Feel free to post your points of view below and visit our Panoramio Page for more High Definition Images.

Here’s an interview with Dr. Manalastas, Chief Veterinarian of Manila Zoo:

PETA wants Manila Zoo closed