#manilazoo

Manila Zoo piggy selfie

My daughter and I porking around with a Baboy (Pot-bellied pig / Sus scrofa domesticus) at the Manila Zoological and Botanical Garden, in Manila.

It is wiser to have a domesticated pig in a petting zoo, rather than any of the Philippine endemic baboy ramo (wild pigs) that are quite dangerous. The indigenous Philippine boars are the baboy sulop (Visayan warty pig / Sus cebifrons), the baboy damo (Philippine warty pig / Sus philippensis), the beyek (Mindoro warty pig / Sus oliveri), the pagin (Palawan bearded pig / Sus ahoenobarbus), and the baboy talun (Bearded pig / Sus barbatus).

To the Cuyonen of Palawan, a wild boar is called a bangkilan; while the Ivatan of Batanes called them vulaw a bagu.

And during the prehistoric age, the species of gigantic boar Celebochoerus cagayanensis roamed the Cagayan Valley. These boar were around the size of a fully grown carabao (water buffalo / Bubalus bubalis) and lived around the Pliocene-Pleistocene era (about 5.33 million to 12,000 years ago).

The Manila Zoo opened in 1959 within a 5.5-hectare (14-acre) lot, and it is considered the second oldest zoo in Asia.

Manila Zoo parrot selfie

My daughter and I are trying to communicate with a Kusi or Kulasisi (Philippine hanging parrot / Loriculus philippensis), at the Kinder Zoo petting zoo of Manila Zoological and Botanical Garden, Philippines.

There are hardly any Filipino myths and folktales about parrots, with the exception that a parrot was mentioned as a messenger of the princess Datimbang, in the Maranao epic poem of the Darangan.

The Manila Zoo opened in a 5.5-hectare (14-acre) lot in 1959, while the Kinder Zoo opened in 2000. However the Kinder Zoo closed down in 2019, along with the shutdown of the Manila Zoo for its rehabilitation.

There are cases of wild Kulasisi seen flitting among the trees of the Manila Zoo, as the trees of the zoo are a haven for wild native birds and migratory birds.

Manila Zoo ostrich selfie

Being snubbed by Queen Elsa, the ostrich (Struthio Camelus) at the Manila Zoological and Botanical Garden, Philippines.

The Manila Zoo opened in 1959 within a 5.5-hectare (14-acre) lot, and it is considered the second oldest zoo in Asia.

Katala selfie

My daughter and I are mucking about with two Katala (Red-vented Cockatoo / Cacatua haematuropygia) in the Kinder Zoo petting zoo, of the Manila Zoological and Botanical Garden, in Manila, Philippines. Behind us is a South American Blue-and-Gold Macaw (Ara ararauna).

When the Manila Zoological and Botanical Garden opened in 1959, the thick foliage made the zoo a roosting ground for many wild endemic and migratory bird species. This makes this Manila Zoo as one of the favorite areas for birdwatchers and conservationists.

Here is the list of birds that can be seen in the trees of the Manila Zoo:

Bakaw (Rufous Night Heron / Nycticorax caledonicus)

Lapay (Black-crowned Night Heron / Nycticorax nycticorax)

Kalapati (Rock Dove / Columba livia)

Bato-bato (Zebra Dove / Geopelia striata)

Tukmo (Spotted Dove / Spilopelia chinensis)

Pitlago (Yellow-Vented Bulbul / Pycnonotus goiavier)

Maria Capra (Philippine Pied-Fantail / Rhipidura nigritorquis & Pied Fantail / Rhipidura javanica)

Tagak (Eastern Cattle Egret / Bubulcus coromandus & Little egret / Egretta garzetta)

Lawin (Brahminy Kite / Haliastur indus)

Uwak (Large-billed Crow / Corvus macrorhynchos)

Kasay-kasay (Common Kingfisher / Alcedo atthis)

Kulasisi (Philippine Hanging-Parrot / Loriculus philippensis)

Balinsasayaw (Philippine Swiftlet / Aerodramus mearnsi & Gray-rumped Swiftlet / Collocalia marginata)

Anluage (Philippine Pygmy Woodpecker / Yungipicus maculatus & Philippine Pygmy Woodpecker / Dendrocopos maculatus)

Kachak (Pied Triller / Lalage nigra)

Pok-Pok (Coppersmith Barbet / Psilopogon haemacephalus)

Salaksak (White-Collared Kingfisher / Halcyon chloris)

Kilyawan (Black-Naped Oriole / Oriolus chinensis)

Tamsi (Olive-Backed Sunbird / Nectarinia jugularis)

Pipít-bakaw (Golden-Bellied Flyeater / Gerygone sulphurea)

Maya (Eurasian Tree Sparrow / Passer montanus)

Tarat (Brown shrikes / lanius cristatus)

Layang-layang (Pacific Swallow / Hirundo tahitica & Barn Swallow / Hirundo rustica)

Dalampiaw (Whiskered Tern / Chlidonias hybrid)

Hippopotamus selfie

Saying goodbye to Queen Bertha, the hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) that passed away in 2017, in the Manila Zoological and Botanical Garden, Philippines.

Bertha was 7 years old when she was brought to the Manila Zoo during its opening in 1959, and she stayed to become the oldest hippo in captivity. The 2.5-tonne Bertha had had lived to 65 years old, whereas hippos are known to live from 40-50 years in captivity.

Bertha had a mate that passed away in the late 1980s, but they failed to produce any offspring.

The latest loss of the Manila Zoon is the passing away of Vishwa Ma'ali, the Asiatic Elephant (Elephas maximus) in 2023. Vishwa Ma'ali was given to the Manila Zoo by the government of Sri Lanka in 1977, and she wa presumed to be around 43 to 49 years old upon her passing.