My Visit to 2 Zoos in the Philippines
August 4, 2009 Posted by Tyler CruzI love animals, and so when the opportunity to visit a couple of zoos (on different days) arose, it was an easy decision to make.
The first zoo I went to was actually the private zoo at the Fort Ilocandia hotel and resort. I stayed at the Fairway Holiday Park Isle Of Wight: check out our luxury cottages for sale. While the cages that the animals were in weren’t all that big, I did get comfort in the fact that it was supposedly a type of animal shelter where injured and rescued animals were kept. I did notice a couple of wounded animals so it may have been legitimate.
The second zoo I visited was the Baluarte Zoo in Vigan, Ilocos Sur. It was a completely free zoo provided by a very rich Filipino for the community. Some believe that it is a political ploy to help gain votes for when he runs for office.
Whatever the politics, the Baluarte Zoo was a pretty large zoo and the animals had a lot of room. In fact, a lot of the animals run around freely such as the ostriches and roosters.
There was a photographer there and I could have got my photo taken petting a tiger right inside the cage, but you had to have an appointment and I didn’t feel like waiting.
Please excuse all the photos. I actually had to edit them down a lot since I had so many nice shots. If you have time, check out the 10-minute video below as well.
Fort Ilocandia Zoo
I love travelling in the off-season. I was literally the only person at the zoo, apart from 5-6 zookeepers keeping things clean.
I felt a bit sorry for the owl since they are nocturnal and he probably wanted some privacy to sleep. Then again, he could have went inside his little house…
A python resting on a tree stump.
See you later, alligator. In a while, crocodile!
Monkeys hanging out. They did pace a bit which made me feel sad. It would have been nice to have seen some more natural surroundings in the cage such as a couple small trees and branches, etc. for them to play with…
An eagle that was very nervous of me.
Turkeys are big. And noisy.
More birds.
Another python.
A huge lizard.
Ostriches. It was awesome seeing ostriches… they’re freaking massive… 3 meters tall. They really do look like dinosaurs.
The dad was in the next pen. He must have had an attitude problem…
Baluarte Zoo
It was great getting to see so many animals for the first time. I’ve actually never been to a real zoo before so it was a great experience.
I kept trying to feed the camel on the left, but he/she would just not accept anything from me. Oddly, he/she would gladly accept it from anyone else, just not me.
So I felt the other one, who was happy to accept my food.
I just can’t get over ostriches… they’re crazy!
Jurassic Park anyone?
I found Bambi.
Colourful.
El Paca’s.
This tiger was such a pussycat! Rolling over and playing like a kitten.
The view from the upper part of the zoo.
A Burmese Albino Python. I can only imagine how strong their squeeze must me.. that’s like pure muscle.
The zoo also had a butterfly garden.
A rooster strutting his stuff.
The tigers were actually being held in a temporary pen as they were getting a nice home makeover on their big pen area.
I hope you enjoyed the video and photos. I’ll have another update from my trip to the Philippines within a few days.
How cool! Looks like your own private zoo. lol
Is it hot and humid in Fort Ilocandia?
By the way, what are you using for your video editing? The transitions are so neat!!
Actually it was very comfortable in the Ilocos Sur region… not as humid as in Bulacan I found.
I’m using iMovie on my Macbook Pro… it rocks!
It looked like it was a fun time with your family. Greg Ellison
Wonderful, beautiful.. Philippines seems really like the place to be in if you’re a nature lover!!!
I loved the Owls look. Its all “WTF do you want?!”
OK, now if you took those photos yourself then I’m pretty impressed with a few, especially the close ups of the butterflies, but DUDE, I want to read about making money, not looking at farm animals!
🙂
Dude you really seemed to have traveled a lot here inside the Philippines. And obviously you enjoyed it. 🙂
I personally love animals as well, there is actually a smallest monkey in the zoo in my country, it’s interesting to have a look.
Did you realize that all of the tigers in the zoo are not active at all, they’re most probably just lie down, eat and sleep, it’s more interesting to see tiger in Africa, more wild. 😀
Regards,
Lee
Yes, I agree. I’m not a fan of captivity, but there were no wild safari’s there 🙂
I’ve been to Korea too. My “Korean” name is Lim Dae Han.
Check out my crappy Korean writing lol: https://tylercruz.com/tyler/korea.jpg
hahaha . i don’t know you love animals like you love make money online
Looks cool, zoo’s are nice to have a look at 🙂 i like the tigers
I know its your blog and all but this is way off topic..I don’t know why I’m coming here anymore..and i’m sure i’m not the only one…maybe you could have a travel blog on a subdomain or something…if we want to see this animals there are millions of pictures all over the net..there’s nothing special happening..its not teaching me or stimulating me…
I charge a special fee for stimulation.
I love looking at other people’s vacation pictures and these are awesome! Thanks for posting these, Tyler.
Looks like you had a great time at the zoo. By the way you take great pictures.
These are amazing pictures, looks like you had a great time at the zoo. The tigers were the best.
I once saw an ostrich eat a rat! Eeeek! He just swallowed it! Those things eat anything! They can also kick & kill you. KEEP the Philippine bloggies coming! I ENJOY THEM!
Pretty cool Tyler! It looked like alot of fun, that’s for sure! Oh and yeah some of those animals were pretty scary! I am surprised though that you haven’t watermarked the photos you took, hehe.
Till then,
Jean
I know USA is the only country that has strict rules on “ZOOs” because we can’t go anywhere close to them!
-Mike
Nice to see a third world zoo that’s not so bad! Thanks for the review and the photos.
Allen Nyhuis, Coauthor: America’s Best Zoos
Very Cool. I really like the tigers, and the owl.
-Paul
I like the close-up shots of the butterflies. You must have a thing for photography Tyler 😉
Haha, I don’t know why people think those shots are good… I actually think they’re pretty blurry!
I just point and shoot real quick, always have. I don’t change any camera settings or try to frame the subject, etc… I just click and am done with it, lol.
I love animals too. Those tigers look pretty cool. Thanks for the video.
Maybe you should go to Indonesia… Like Komodo Island
I havent been to a zoo in a while. I think the closest thing was the safari at six flags theme park.
Looks like you had a good time.
I would be visiting the one in Ontario soon
such a good experience out there!
I am pretty bummed out as I didn’t have time to see all these nice places when I was there. I plan to visit again in about a year or so, and I would love to take my wife to that zoo. Thanks a lot for the pictures Tyler, glad you had a good trip.
– Robert
Beautiful Pics. I also love animals very much and even the environment also. In my colony I take care of 3-4 street dogs by giving them food and place for sleeping.
Beauty! I love going to the zoo with his girlfriend. It so nice and quiet, helps relax …
great pics, and enjoyed the video. This is why I like your site. Very interesting stuff :D.
That is awesome. We have a free animal rescue shelter in my hometown. But they don’t have tigers. that is pretty neat that a guy donated the zoo for the people.
animals are most pretty creation of God. we recuse them and secure them from the people who hunting them. We can provide shelter and also fed to them that keep them sur and for that purpose we need some machinery that we can purchase from https://www.agroasiatractors.co.bw/ so must website the website and purchase the things that help you in securing them.