Famous Youtuber Lloyd Cadena posted a story from one of his followers about her recent trip with her son to the famous Manila Zoo. She tells the story of her rewarding her son to a trip of his choice, The Manila Zoo but they were both disappointed with the current situation:
- Nobody was maintaining the surroundings, there were trash everywhere, even inside the cages of the animals.
- Nobody was guarding the visitors, they were feeding the animals junk food even trash
- Employee was smoking on duty while handing tickets
- Employees without uniforms and even are dressed inappropriately
Photo sent in by our reader MerveShine Constantino
Direct Quote:
Mataas ang grades na nakuha ng anak ko, kaya katulad ng kahit sinong magulang, bibigyan ko siya ng pagkakataon na mamasyal sa lugar na gusto niya. I was surprised na hindi niya pinili ang Star City or Enchanted Kingdom but he chose, yes, your zoo. Ayaw ko man, ang general average na 97% ay hindi tatablan ng “NO, anak”.
So dahil nasa Maynila naman na kami, minabuti kong dumaan na muna sa National Museum of the Philippines. He was skeptical at first, ano daw ba ang makikita niya doon? I assured, a lot. And hindi naman ako nabigo. On this photo, you can see that he is so happy. He discovered new things about the Philippines’ culture, seeing 300-500 year old artworks, unusual sculptures from artists he barely knew, and he learned from here. He was so amazed. Pero when we went to your zoo. Ang sakit, so hayaan niyo akong sulatan kayo dito.
Dear Manila Zoo,
Sa totoo lang, kung pwedeng maligaw na lang kami kunwari, ginawa ko na. But my son was patient, we’ll get there. Kinakabahan ako, ano ang aabutan namin dun? So sinabi ko sa kanya, na baka hindi na kasing-ayos ang zoo like how I told him “back in the day”.
And I was right. Manila Zoo broke our hearts. Yung “WOW!” niya sa museo ay napalitan ng “ay…”. It was the most heart-breaking trip I ever had and I know, sa anak ko rin. Hindi kami umalis kaagad, sinulit ko po ang entrance fee, P100 per head eh.
Ipapaalam ko lang po sa inyo ang mga bagay na dapat ninyong bigyan ng pansin. Unang una, hindi na po ito zoological garden, animal prison na po ito. Ang mga hayop, kawawa naman. Siguro naman ang entrance fee namin ay sapat na upang makapag-hire kayo ng animal handlers na alam ang kanilang ginagawa. Sa totoo lang, mas malinis pa ang Comfort Room niyo na may bayad. Walang nagbabantay sa ibang hayop na malapit sa mga turista na hindi nakakaintindi ng “Don’t Feed the Animals”. Nakita tuloy ng anak ko kung paano kumain ang unggoy ng Mr. Chips, at ang Ostrich na nakakain ng napitpit na plastic na takip ng hot chocolate. Wala akong picture, I was so busy shouting and distracting these animals para hindi isubo ang nakikita nila. They are totally in danger. After that, kitang-kita sa mukha ng anak ko ang pag-aalala.
Pangalawa, sige, kung walang pondo sa animal handlers, kahit sa Zoo maintainance na lang, napakadumi na po ng lugar. Hindi na po sapat ang mga signages ninyo na “Panatilihing malinis ang lugar” dahil wala na pong pakialam ang mga tao dahil nanlilimahid po ang zoo. Napaka-surprising nga po at buhay pa yung Hippopotamus kahit napakaraming basura na lumulutang sa man-made pond niya.
Lastly, I am calling the attention of all your employees. Saan ka nakakita ng female attendant na kukuha ng ticket mo sa entrance na may yosi na naka-angkas sa tenga? Mga hindi naka-uniform at may naka-sexy shorts pa? Zoo ba kayo o bar? We went there on a sunday, sure, pero hindi ba dapat mas presentable kayo kapag weekends dahil mas marami kayong bisita?
Nakakahiya. Ang sakit sakit po ng dibdib ko sa pag-pasyal namin sa zoo ninyo. And thank you for disappointing my son. I never took photos kasi I am never proud of what I saw. Sa lahat ng aspeto, bagsak kayo. Kung hindi niyo kayang i-maintain, magsara na lang po tayo. Kahit hindi na lang para sa kahihiyan, kahit para sa mga hayop na lang.
*The source of the story has remained anonymous, if you know the author of the said post, please let us know to credit her fully*
Have you been to Manila Zoo recently? How was your experience? How can the management improve?
I also had the worst experience there. Excited ako kasi never pa kong nakapunta sa zoo, bata pa lang ako pangarap ko na makapunta sa Manilaa Zoo. Hindi kasi ako sumasama ng field trip nung bata pa ko kaya ngayon na lang akong college nakapunta. I was so disaappointed na yung iniimagine ko na Zoo, hanggang imagination lang pala talaga siya, plus, SOBRANG BAHO at PANGHI pa ng zoo. Dinaig pa nila yung public cr. -_- Kawawa yung animals, and isa sa mga gusto kong makita e yung hippo, but then hindi na niya nagawang magpakita, siguro siya na mismo ang nahiya sa sitwasyon na meron siya. Ang dumi na nung pond niya,and buti nga buhay pa siya, sobrang dumi na kasi talaga at mukhang puro bacteria na yung nakapalibot sa kanya. It was a very heart breaking experience for me kasi sobrang sabik akong makapunta dun, but then Manila Zoo failed to meet my expectations. Pang batang expectation na lang nga meron ako, hindi pa din sila pumasa. -_- Please sana may magandang loob na tumulong para ,manumbalik ulit yung malinis na zoo, and please take good care of the animals. Napakasakit makita na ganun yung situation nila.
There is way more behind this than what people may see. My uncle is the new director at Manila zoo and is a true animal lover and deeply cares about the animals and their quality of life. Unfortunately our government does not give budget needed and a lot of the renovations and improvements that are being done to the facilities are actually coming from private donations. If there is anyone to be blamed for the poor conditions at Manila Zoo it is not the staff and the people running the zoo but is the government who seems to not care about the quality of life for these animals. I grew up going to this zoo and have met all the employees and care takers and all are animal lovers. A lot of these people shell out their own money and efforts to improve the quality of life for the animals but unfortunately is not enough. So before anyone starts judging the zoo staff they must be aware of where the problem really comes from.
The Entrance fee has gone up to 100 pesos per head, my wife recently went there… (I think it was 40 before, not sure) But last time I went there august of 2014 its ok and clean.. but still can be improved…
I USE TO GO THERE. I HEARD THAT SOMETIMES MAINTENANCE EAT/BRING HOME MEAT INTENDED FOR THE ANIMALS
Maybe it’s time start a petition to close the zoo. 🙁