Last Sunday, I decided to visit the Cebu City Zoo. I read in the news a few weeks ago that the zoo is now being managed by a man who gave up his high-paying job to focus his attention on the (remaining) animals at the zoo. I personally believed that it would take a herculean effort to transform the place completely. But anyways, I’ve said my piece about the Cebu City Zoo months ago. So let’s not be too critical about it. In fairness to the new team, I noticed a few ‘improvements’. And taking into consideration the fact that the whole place is running on limited resources, funds, and manpower, I’d say it’s an achievement even!
The crocodile moves! The crocodile moves!
A lovely looking bird.
A diseased monkey asking for chips and bread from visitors.
Mother monkey and her baby.
Life is a ballgame. Still dirty cage.
Close yer mouth croky!
Try going a little deeper into the water, croky!
The zoo has a new addition. This very awesome tiger named Boggart!
But don’t you think the cage is a wee bit small?
Boggart looking bored. Lovely lovely animal.
I noticed that Boggart has a limp. I think his right hindleg is broken.
People take photos of Boggart.
Meeeeh!!! What are you thinking, dear friend?
Cute baby owls. They couldn’t fly yet.
Solo shot.
I think this owl did something terrible to deserve this kind of injustice.
A bat munching on a Judge chewing gum wrapper.
Duplex, anyone?
Cute bird
Quiet, birds! The tenants upstairs are trying to sleep!
Is this an eagle?
A milo eating chicken meat.
Get up you lazy boy, you!
Nap time for the pigeons!
A young boy and a shy turtle.
Chicken run!
Mixing bowl
The high firewall is still pretty distracting.
But once again, I must say that the place has huge huge potential.
Look at all the natural plant species in the area!
Papaya!
And they now have portalets. Nice, ei! Hehehe.
If you have time to kill, please visit the Cebu City Zoo. The zoo still has a good number of animals. There’s still hope, really. You and your kids will still have a nice time. Entrance fee is only Php10 for kids and Php25 for adults. If you can, you can give donations, too. The Cebu City Zoo needs our support.
pretty cool! i wish i could bring my kids down there. thanks ley. nice pix
agree. the tiger’s cage is too small. it should be transferred into a bigger one.
the place seemed to look nice……. it has alot of potential, the owner should advertise and welcome sponsors for each exotic animal for improvement like for a better and larger cage for the tiger, yes the big bird looks like an american bald eagle…….. i’ve seen alot of those during our 4yr duty station in Alaska-they are well preserved and protected and considered among the highly endangered sp. in america……. very high fines involved for hunting/shooting one!
Oh my. Never heard or read about it for decades. I thought the Zoo died with Father Tropa! The sorry state of the animals in their cages is pretty obvious, but you are right – the effort alone to preserve the zoo is already an accomplishment worth commending. I believe this is one thing that needs to be looked at by the city or the province. Your pics clearly show the zoo’s potential as a tourist spot or simply a place for the locals to commune with nature. With all the spic and span projects and tourism centereddevelopment in Cebu, there must be some problem why it appears to have been neglected for so long.
Just as I suspected that some problems might be brewing as a reason for the obvious government neglect of the zoo, I read in the Freeman that indeed it is the center of another province and city land issue. The rift between the two LGUs is anomalous considering they are both government with the same mandate and that their activities should be marked with cooperation. But given their powers under the law, their disagreement is a result of the flaw of the law, i.e. when the provincial capital is the same city which is classified by law as independent of the province. Thus, the province own property within the jurisdiction of the city and make projects within the city subject to regulations of the city. The city in turn has projects within the city using province owned property and subject to the right of the province as the owner of the property. What a mess!
The obvious solution is a correction of the law, and I propose crudely (with my little legal knowledge) that amendments be made to the Local Government Code to read: That no highly urbanized city can be the capital of the province; that once a city is declared highly urbanized and independent of the province of which it is a capital, the provincial government must relocate all its offices in a newly created capital within its jurisdiction; that all province owned properties for public use and service must be ceded to the city government for free; provincial patrimonial property must be sold to the city at a price equivalent to its assessed value; the new capitol site can become a city but its head shall always be the governor, etc.
With the new amendments, there would no bickering between the two powers (LOL)
This is disturbing to see the tiger small cage. If they could not provide a bigger and comfortable space for that tiger, i-donate na lang na sa kinsang dato sa ato nga maka afford. Paka-uwaw lang na sila ug tuga-tuga ug take care sa zoo pero wala’y lamag unsaon pag atiman sa mga mananap. Naa ba’y veterinarian diha? Have you guys seen the dead chicken being fed to one of the animals? naa pay ulo, tiil ug uban pa ewwww!
the conditions of the animals in that zoo are so bad, the tiger is like in a chicken cage.
last time i visited Cebu Zoo was waaaaay back in the 80s. There was a bear, and an orang-utan who was so adorable. gipakaon ug nokos sa caregiver. hehehe
Nice though,
i wish Boggart had a huge enclosure to roam around,
ohh! the sheep needs a shear,
The Cebu Zoo needs a lot of ATTENTION and CARE. Whoever is trying to run this place, is just another selfish cruel person, someone who thinks this is just for fun. From looking at this photos, i could clearly tell the NEGLECT and the animals are truly suffering.
I see you did not read the blog and just went on looking at the pictures. It’s rude for you to say,
“Whoever is trying to run this place, is just another selfish cruel person, someone who thinks this is just for fun.”
FYI, the zoo is managed by a man who gave up his high-paying job to save this zoo. Why don’t you visit the zoo and drop some donations, it’s better than bad mouthing someone.
I used to work for the zoo and the person who actually claimed to be the owner of the zoo is a freakin’ cock sucker named Father Tropa, who preaches “love one another” who’s own and only interest is to prey upon little boys. Anyway, my uncle my mom’s brother was killed by the bear many years ago, and the chimpanzee’s name was Jigo. Meanwhile the Orangutans name was Josie girl and Charlie boy. Charlie died years ago and I heard that Josie girl died as well. Yes, I too can say that who ever running this zoo is NO better than the old person. I will say this until I see some changes around the zoo. Thanks!
I agree that the place and especially the animals need the much-deserved attention and care however, i also believe that the man trying to run the place has been doing a good effort. As kuya here had mentioned, the man gave up a high-paying job to focus his efforts in rehabilitating the zoo. I believe this place needs our support too. If the people aware of this state could get together some sort of club where people can sign up and volunteer to help on a weekly basis or during their free time to try round up some funds for donation or hang out by the zoo to help clean up the place, I believe that together it will be a SUCCESS. It’s just a matter of how soon it can be started. I don’t have much idea about clubs and all but I am willing to volunteer for the job right away.
The key guys is to HELP.
This is an essay written by a Korean, for the Filipinos…” Kim Jaey
Filipinos always complain about the corruption in the Philippines. Do you really think the corruption is the problem of the Philippines? I do not think so. I strongly believe that the problem is the lack of love for the Philippines.
Let me first talk about my country, Korea. It might help you understand my point. After the Korean War, South Korea was one of the poorest countries in the world. Koreans had to start from scratch because the entire country was destroyed completely after the Korean War, and we had no natural resources.
Koreans used to talk about the Philippines, for Filipinos were very rich in Asia. We envy Filipinos. Koreans really wanted to be well off like Filipinos. Many Koreans died of famine. My father’s brother also died because of famine.
Korean government was awfully corrupt and is still very corrupt beyond your imagination, but Korea was able to develop dramatically because Koreans really did their best for the common good with their heart burning with patriotism. Koreans did not work just for themselves but also for their neighborhood and country. Education inspired young men with the spirit of patriotism.
40 years ago, President Park took over the government to reform Korea. He tried to borrow money from other countries, but it was not possible to get a loan and attract a foreign investment because the economy situation of South Korea was so bad. Korea had only three factories. So, President Park sent many mine workers and nurses to Germany so that they could send money to Korea to build a factory. They had to go through a horrible experience. In 1964, President Park visited Germany to borrow money.
Hundred of Koreans in Germany came to the airport to welcome him and cried there as they saw President Park. They asked to him, “President, when can we be well off?”. That was the only question everyone asked to him. President Park cried with them and promised them that Korea would be well off if everyone works hard for Korea, and the President of Germany got the strong impression on them and lent money to Korea. So, President Park was able to build many factories in Korea.
He always asked Koreans to love their country from their heart. Many Korean scientists and engineers in the USA came back to Korea to help develop the country because they wanted their country to be well off. Though they received very small salary, they did their best for Korea. They always hoped that their children would live in well off country.
My parents always brought me to the places where poor and physically handicapped people live. They wanted me to understand their life and help them. I also worked for Catholic Church when I was in the army. The only thing I learned from Catholic Church was that we have to love our neighborhood. And I have loved my neighborhood.
Have you cried for the Philippines? I have cried for my country several times. I also cried for the Philippines because of so many poor people. I have been to the New Bilibid prison. What made me sad in the prison were the prisoners who do not have any love for their country. They go to mass and work for Church. They pray everyday. However, they do not love the Philippines. I talked to two prisoners at the maximum security compound, and both of them said that they would leave the Philippines right after they are released from the prison. They said that they would start a new life in other countries and never come back to the Philippines.
Many Koreans have a great love for Korea so that we were able to share our wealth with our neighborhood. The owners of factory and company were distributed their prof! it to their employees fairly so that employees could buy what they needed and saved money for the future and their children.
When I was in Korea, I had a very strong faith and wanted to be a priest. However, when I came to the Philippines, I completely lost my faith. I was very confused when I saw many unbelievable situations in the Philippines. Street kids always make me sad, and I see them everyday. The Philippines is the only Catholic country in Asia, but there are too many poor people here. People go to church every Sunday to pray, but nothing has been changed. My parents came to the Philippines last week and saw this situation. They told me that Korea was much poorer than the present Philippines when they were young. They are so sorry that there so many beggars and street kids. When we went to Pagsanjan, I forced my parents to take a boat because it would fun. However, they were not happy after taking a boat. They said that they would not take the boat again because they sympathized the boat men, for the boat men were very poor and had a small frame. Most of people just took a boat and enjoyed it. But my parents did not enjoy it because of love for them.
My mother who has been working for Catholic Church since I was very young told me that if we just go to mass without changing ourselves, we are not Catholic indeed. Faith should come with action. She added that I have to love Filipinos and do good things for them because all of us are same and have received a great love from God.
I want Filipinos to love their neighborhood and country as much as they love God so that the Philippines will be well off. I am sure that love is the keyword which Filipinos should remember. We cannot change the sinful structure at once. It should start from person. Love must start in everybody in a small scale and have to grow. A lot of things happen if we open up to love. Let’s put away our prejudices and look at our worries with our new eyes. I discover that every person is worthy to be loved. Trust in love, because it makes changes possible. Love changes you and me. It changes people, contexts and relationships. It changes the world.
Please love your neighborhood and country. Jesus Christ said that whatever we do to others we do to Him. In the Philippines, there is God who are abused and abandoned. There is God who is crying for love.
If you have a child, teach them how to love the Philippines. Teach them why they have to love their neighborhood and country.
You already know that God also will be very happy if you love others. That is all I really want to ask you Filipinos.
I hope sandy this would be an eye-opener for Filipinos. We have just this crab mentality somehow. 🙁
I agree with Kim. Early in my school days, we used to sing our national anthem every morning – 5 days a week, and whenever we do, I oftentimes let my let my mind wander around…….. because whenever I took the lyric deep into my heart, It would remind of how our forefathers did for our beloved country…tears normally came uncontrolled. The same is true in going to mass every Sunday – not sure if everybody do things by the heart or just pray and act like playing an audio or video recorder – flat! Uttering memorized words without thought of what might have said or did. It has been my practice to propose a solution to every problem I see, for this I should say that the Philippine educational system should put more emphasis on a realistic learning points for our school children on how to love oneself, family, country, neighbor and foremost God! I still believe that constant drop of water may still make a difference on a hard rock! Educate, educate, educate and educate and mold every child to become good future citizens….. the welfare of street kids & zoo animals, lower criminality, etc. may then follow without much efforts………………..
You can talk all the love that you can give….but that doesn’t escape from the harsh reality that Philippines government is so corrupt to the core. You need to respect others before you can say the word love. I personally LOVE Philippines Island, it is paradise by it self: too bad that we let this country get overly populated and still to these days growing like NO tomorrow. Truth hurts, but…..we need to reconsider what ahead of us, sure we love babies but can we really afford one? each Filipino need to take a look around and ask themselves before start a family.
For me that is a respect for my country.
I agree that this place has a huge potential. Zoos in most cities in the world resemble somewhat like public plazas.
But our very own Cebu zoo resembles the very environment these creatures came from. DOT or whatever LGU is in charge of this facility can turn this feature into a marketing point, and it makes the zoo one-of-a-kind.
My idea of Cebu zoo would be something like having large, clean, presentable cages; world-class facilties; cool playground and recreational areas; high-tech, modern equipment (e.g., surveillance cameras, PA systems, automatic feeders, fountains, etc) while retaining the jungle-type environment/terrain.
Ah, murag pina Kan Irag ba.
milo’s can create expensive coffee.
Hi, can anyone tell me where is the Cebu Zoo located? i like to visit there. 🙂
cebu zoo location?
i been there 2 weeks ago. the tiger has been transferred to a bigger cage. i did not see the bat and the rabbits i wonder if they’re still there or maybe they died already. There are only very few animals there, most of them are very common. the zoo is in need of help. anyone can contribute, you can donate animals or food for the animals. the zoo is located at upper kalunasan, capitol, cebu city. you reach there by riding jepney number 15, which has route to oprra village, and then ride a habal2x. just inform the jepney driver that heading to cebu zoo, and the driver will drop you to a place where you can ride habal2x.
the zoo is not that pleasing but still it’s good place to bring your kids and your love ones.
Someone can give the phone number of cebu zoo pls… or someone know where is the location..
thanks,
I want to know the cebu zoo relations and licensing. Also your attraction licensing.? Because i need it in our TOUR OPERATION in USJR. Please do help me. I am looking forward to your reply. Thank you.
asa man dapit ang cebu city zoo?
please post the location ang how to get their…
sa Oppra
please give lang mo og link sa wikimapia asa dapit ang zoo…
kay kung ako e google lain2x ang mga location sa cebu city zoo…
I visited Cebu Zoo while on holiday June 2011 and would never recomend anyone ever go there, Ive never seen animals kept in such cruel bad conditions ever,domestic dogs in cages what kind of zoo is that ? , filthy conditions and cages that are far to small for the animals, the place should not be allowed to operate and the animals put somewhere where they can be cared for properly.The thing that made me feel so angry was the conditions the Tiger is kept in , he could not even stand up in a cage that was far to small as the floor was just a square metal mesh.He also had a very large open wound on one ofhis rear feet and was obviously in a lot of pain.Whater so called city official is in charge of the zoo should be ashamed of themselves.Either take care of the animals properly or hand them over to somewhere that can, Especially the Tiger.
They might be kept in cruel conditions, but your comment is not doing any good either Roger…. If people will not be visiting the Cebu Zoo, then what will happen to the animals there? Perhaps you are just like the people who have were not doing there job? When you were there? Have you made any donation? what did you do to help? I have not visited the Cebu zoo yet but I am hoping to, one of these days, visit the place and help/donate even small amount of money… i know that in my own little way, i can do something to help them… if people will have the same thinking that i have.. then, we can all help save Cebu Zoo and all the animals there…
Hi Dexter, you are right. I agree with you… Hopefully, the City government will also open their hearts and help the Cebu Zoo in its current state.. I hope also that we, Cebuanos will extend our help to the Cebu City Zoo… Some of the animals are already starting to extinct and it’s sad that time will come that we can only view them through books (God forbids…) …. I have already visited the Singapore Zoo and I know that the Cebu Zoo will not be as great as the former but still, I am also planning to visit the place one of days… We can not blame the people who are currently managing the place because they are also depending on the people who will be visiting the zoo, and best prospect should have been us – Cebuanos… Do we still need others to help them? We can all pay forward all the blessings that God has bestowed us and one of them is by helping these animals… A mere visit to the zoo will be a great help to these animals…. much more if we give or donate (even) a small amount of money. Even a penny will do…
Let’s stop bad mouthing and blaming as to who’s not doing the job.. We are all part of the Cebu City Zoo… It’s our Zoo… Let us save it!
Dexter, for your information yes i did leave a donation and i very much doubt that any of it went to the animals ( i live in the real world ) i have been visiting the philippines for the last 20 years 2 to 3 times a year as my wife is from there so im well aware of how things work there.My comments were made to shame any politician who read them involved with the zoo into actually doing something about it. Because thats the only way anything will get done or by a weathy person donating a large sum of money. So go visit the place for yourself and see if you would recommend the place to anyone else. But i agree it does need visitors to keep going but the problem is the fee is almost nothing to enter and the time i went i didnt see any other visitors in the time i was there. And the only way they can increase the fee is to spend money to make the place into better place, it has the potential.
I’ve visited the place today.. the staff said that Bogart have that limp since he was born. He’s really cute and i want to hug him because he seems to be totally friendly.
Planning to share the experience at Cebu Zoo on my blog too. It’s totally fun and a way of reconnecting yourself again to mother nature
The politics and corruption that lies there in will mean that a fair deal for the animals will never really be reached. ONLY public money can save this zoo and more importantly the welfare of the animals.
Now, I am only an Australian expat that has been here a few months but the 1 thing I have always loved is zoos. The 3 major ones we have in Melbourne I visited a lot, sometimes weekly (as I had a membership).
Memberships are a great idea but again, the worry will always be who controls and uses the money.
I suggest the formation of a few dedicated people to register a charity. The web is a great place to go global, the access to the media is unlimited..
Funds are not for profit, so no wages to the people involved, it must be done for love. As (hopefully) money starts to come in, an audit of the most needed areas to be conducted. Starting with the animal welfare and beautification of enclosures. Once the animals are comfortable and safe (I would start with that poor tiger) in an enclosure that is not only practical BUT beautiful…..more people will come. An agreement, legally binding will have to show that a percentage of gate takings is invested into the charity to help with the improvements.
The money is used to pay the contractors for work done only and that must be haggled on furiously to get the best value. I would say that large advertising billboards at the enclosure to show who worked on it – what great guys they are so the public can see who helped and bring more business their way.
This is very achievable, we just need the people with the heart to do it. Trustworthy people to collect donations from the public, from online sources. Business developers who can drum up the interest of the contractor firms.
It just takes a few people who care. We can all write on a blog wall, but who has the guts, dedication and in fairness, the time to dedicate to a project like this?
Well, you can count me in! If you are interested, let me know here and drop me an email at ewan.buist1969@yahoo.com
I would propose as first step – obviously build a crew of people interested. Then approach the zoo about the intent. After that, get into every paper, onto every magazine and see if we can influence those in power and with money….particularly celebrities. Who ever has talent in the are needs to get a facebook, twitter and google+ page going and a website for the zoo.
So, bloggers, what do we do know….I will await anyone’s reply who is interested.
seriously, i feel bad about these animals living in cebu zoo; it’s bad enough already being caged but living in such condition which is no way close to their habitat is worse! the last time i visited this zoo was when fr tropa was still alive. i remember back then the “green” crocodile covered with moss and a monkey throwing anything, including feces, at anyone who came close to the cage, desperate free. i wonder if it is still alive. anyways, i really feel these animals should be set free or transferred to a way much better zoo which much, much better condition.
hmmm….i hope what i’ve written made sense (i.e. grammar, dude). should’ve read/edited it before posting. oh well…
naluoy jud ko sa tiger ai… 🙁 that is very INHUMANE!!!!! Bullshit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow! Nice blog!
I just visited Cebu Zoo last May 2014 and there are already a lot of changes! Check out my experience here. http://justnewsprint.blogspot.com/2014/06/cebu-zoo-experience.html