A zoo isn’t something I used to call cool. Or to go all Jerry Maguire-esque, “it’s not even in the same vicinity as” cool. I’ve had three zoo encounters in my life – all based in Manila – and the indelible impression they all left was: desolate and cold cages with lonely animals, ballistic kids and scientific names I can not recall by the time I exit. Ice cold beer on cream shores, or hiking mountains with a toddler? Now THAT is cool.
Then Zoobic Safari happened.
The most extensive (by land mass and animal inhabitants) of five animal and flora theme parks run by Zoomanity Group (a subsidiary of the Yupangco Group who distributes well-known musical instrument brands including Yamaha), Zoobic Safari sits on 25 hectares of forested land in Subic’s Ilanin Forest, right next door to Ocean Adventure.
Zoomanity parks – Zoobic Safari included – are located in key cities in the country: Residence Inn in Tagaytay; the Paradizoo Farm in neighboring Mendez, Cavite; Zoocobia in Clark, Pampanga; and Zoocolate Thrills in Loboc, Bohol.
A striking feature of these parks is that they simulate natural environments by which the animals roam and feed as close to the real thing as possible.
Translation: terrain fringed by grass and earth, and fewer cement or cages (serpents though are kept in aquariums in the Serpentarium to ensure visitor safety). The Siberian-Bengal tigers are allowed time in the savannah and cages in alternate fashion, a measure to prevent cabin fever.
Thus, you have zoos where it’s not uncommon for visitors to interact with – even feed – animals in their unshackled selves: birds, sheeps, camels, ponies, and tigers (yes, adult tigers). Or to be chased by a scary li’l kalaw while you’re seven months pregnant. True story.
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| This guy almost gave me a heart attack. |
Additionally, Zoomanity parks offer diverse activities that stray away from the usual zoo-y stuff you find in others, thus intertwining education and fun in the same space. In Zoobic Safari for instance, there’s the pulse-quickening tiger safari experience – a first in the country – where guests are treated to the riveting experience of tigers jumping on their custom safari jeep and feeding meat next to them. Awe.some.
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| Zoomanity parks have such zoovenir shops selling faux animal merchandise installed in their zoos. |
Zoobic , Zoocolate Thrills and Residence Inn all feature the tiger nursing experience (tram rides too), with the latter offering carabao-drawn carts and a zipline over the Taal landscape as added attractions. Guests can enjoy a planting experience at Paradizoo, and the Philippines’ only gravity car in Zoocobia.
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| Where’s my coffee? Civet cat. |
And of course, there’s the zoo experience itself, which runs the gamut from barn and wild animals to wild flowers.
So maybe zoos can be in the same vicinity as cool. Certainly not in the ice cold beer-mountain climbing spectra, but in the I’m-adult-enough-to-try-activities-for-kids-without-being-whiny-about-it one.
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| Traditional Aeta teaching bow-and-arrow lessons at Zoobic Safari. P10 for each shot. |
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| Aetas do the butterfly dance and the monkey dance so well. And also Tagalog and English. |
I have experienced things in Zoobic that no wild night-out can provide. And surprisingly, they all happen to be exhilirating and kind of cool. So much so I returned to the same zoo a second time (which I didn’t do in any other zoo I’ve been too).
I mean, nursing a Siberian tiger with my bare hands. Sharing a tiger’s breath in a safari- inspired jeepney ala-Masai Mara. Feeding gigantic crocs four feet below. Being chased by a li’l beaky fella during my third trimester. Witnessing native dances by Aetas. Eating tapsilog next to a goat and a wild boar. Very cool. Very, cool, indeed.
