Celebrating life, the Avilon Zoo

There are a lot of zoos you can go to while you are in Metro Manila. You have the Manila Zoo, Malabon Zoo, and Zoobic Safari. Unfortunately though they are either old and unappealing like the depressing Manila Zoo where in the last time I went it was quite dirty, muddy, and the animals did not look to be in top shape or they are too far away like in the case of Zoobic Safari. So in the time before a long weekend, I was pleased to have found Avilon Zoo in Rizal.

The Avilon Zoo is located in San Isidro, Rodriquez (Montalban), Rizal. It boasts to be the largest zoological institution in the Philippines in terms of developed land area with 7.5 hectares of land. Aside from housing a good number of animals found in the Philippines, you can also see critters from other countries like the famous duo, Timon and Pumbaa. You can also be assured that the animals are well taken cared of, in fact, they were even able to breed some of them.

In this particular entry, I will be taking you thru the Avilon Zoo located in Rizal. They do have a branch in Quezon City called Ark Avilon but I have not been there yet so would not show it here.


Directions:

Here is Avilon Zoo as tagged in google maps.


View Larger Map

Here is a picture roughly showing what roads you can take to Avilon Zoo from their website.

Map from Avilon Zoo website.

Here is another website showing directions how to get there via commute.
Here are some driving instructions:
1. Head along edsa going northbound.
2. Turn right at Quezon Avenue and continue until you reach the Elliptical Road/Quezon Memorial Circle.
3. Continue around the circle and turn right at Commonwealth Avenue.
4. Continue along Commonwealth Avenue and turn right to Batasan Road which is right before the Sandiganbayan building.

Sandiganbayan as seen from the road (Source)

5. Continue along Batasan Road until you reach the Batasan-San Mateo Road (tip: this route is easier with better roads but watch out for pedestrians jaywalking!)
6. Continue along the Batasan-San Mateo Road until you reach a junction where you can either go left or right.
7. Go left at the junction and head along Gen. Luna Avenue.
8. Continue to follow Gen. Luna Avenue despite its many bends. (warning: be careful, the road is only 1+1 or "salubungan" so it is very hard to overtake. There are also a lot of bends and I sometimes see huge dumptrucks)
9. When you see a Total Gas Station on your right, turn left (you'll see a sign telling you you've reached Avilon Zoo, see the dump truck?).

Total Gas Station on your right 

10. This part is tricky since you're now on dirt road but don't lose hope and just keep on going steady until you reach Avilon. (warning: this dirt road is dangerous and bumpy. There are a lot of bends and you sometimes won't see oncoming traffic, some areas are also too narrow so you may have to give way to approaching traffic. It is also not lit up at night so I wouldn't advise plying this route when it is already dark.)

Final warning: DO NOT go to Avilon Zoo when it is raining hard and flooding. Unfortunately, you'll have to pass thru a road that goes directly across a river and there are no guiderails so chances are you'll get carried by the river.

I'm on the flooded road I was talking about, that's the river beyond the makeshift barrier sandbags. DANGEROUS.

Contacts and cost:


Avilon Zoo
Bo. San Isidro, Rodriguez, Rizal
Tel. Nos.: (632) 948-3986 * (632) 948-9866 (632) 9418530
Email: avilonzoo@gmail.com

ZOO HOURS:
Monday to Friday: 08:00 AM to 05:00 PM
Saturday & Sunday: 08:00 AM to 06:00 PM

ZOO ENTRANCE RATES:
Regular Entrance Fee: PhP400.00 per person
Children below the counter: PhP300.00 per child
Infants 12 months and below: FREE
Senior Citizens and PWDs: 20% Discount


So, let's get on with it!

Upon reaching the zoo, you'll see that there is ample parking space. As usual, take care of your belongings and do not leave valuables inside your car.

Avilon Zoo parking area and entrance

Here's the view that greets you when you enter. No Smoking! :)

The Arapaima Lagoon as seen from the entrance

You will then see the ticketing booth, dining area, and arapaima lagoon.

You can dine among the Arapaimas on a floating kubo for Php 1,500

Another view of the lagoon with the cottages

Get a chance to feed one of the largest freshwater fish in the world for Php 100 (bucket of chicken heads)

The dining area

Another view of the Arapaima lagoon

Some Arapaimas waiting for food. They follow you when you lean over to see if you'll throw them something.
They're also around 4-6 feet in length!

One of the floating cottages

I'm enchanted by the water lilies and cat tails here

One of the bird houses found in the area,  sometime you'll see some mayas here.

After having your snack/lunch, you can head over to the duck pond. I appreciate the fact that in Avilon Zoo, some animals are free to roam. As you can see in the duck pond, there are no barriers and ducks are free to come and go from the pond. They can also come near you!

The duck pond

Some ducks lounging

Some domestics ducks in a row

I love their bright white colors unlike what I saw in other zoos where they looked filthy

A pair of wild ducks

Black swans anyone?

Wild ducks along the visitor walkways

You'll also get to see some fish there like the kois I encountered below.

From the duck pond, you can climb up the hill to the Avilon Zoo sign and see there camouflaged are the Iguanas.

Avilon Zoo is a wildlife conservation foundation

Hill going to the Avilon Zoo sign

One of the Iguanas housed in the pond under the Avilon Zoo sign.
All of them seem to have damaged lips, not sure if that is due to the decorations in the enclosure.

From the sign, you can either proceed to the reptile enclosure/pigeon houses or the feeding station. We headed over to the feeding station.

The first thing you'll see at the feeding station are the birds, you have the choice of having your picture taken with them for a fee.

The farmland feeding station. An attendant greets you with a pair of macaws.

A beautiful pair of sun conures.

A green parrot

An enchanting black macaw

One of the red macaws there

A sulphur crested cockatoo

Why not take a ride on a pony (picture taken last 2008

Here comes one of my favorite areas. You get to feed the hungry guinea pigs for a fee. And when I say they are hungry and they will swarm you, take my word for it. It's like a zombie apocalypse! Well guinea pigs attack you but you get the idea.

The hungry seemingly docile horde

These guys sure are hungry

They are strong! They nearly pulled the carrot free from my hand. I'm glad the stick was wedged
in the carrot well!

The guinea horde swarm you.

Prices of guinea pig feeds

They also sell critters like hamsters, guinea pigs, and gerbils there. I would wish they hadn't since pet care doesn't stop at buying your pet, it involves so much more. And when you're caught in the excitement of feeding them, especially the kids, I can't help but thinking you'll regret purchasing one later on if you're not ready for their needs. Worst, they'll suffer for it. So please don't buy anything but think it over fully and research, don't rush, you can always head on over to Cartimar to make the purchase.

Gerbils for sale

Now with your feeding experience done, you can head on over to the bigger animals like horses, donkeys, and the stinky warthogs.

One of the many wooly horses

Some donkeys

Some big tortoises

A deer

a friendly wooly donkey

Some native pigs

warty pigs

More pigs

And even more pigs! is that you Pumbaa?

Wow! Albino carabaos

I have to admit, those pigs were S-T-I-N-K-Y STINKY! I didn't post some other pictures of them for fear that you'll smell them thru your monitor. But those Albino carabaos sure where special, aren't they?

Moving on, here are some white swans you'll see at Avilon as well as some other birds.

White swans in a pond. Truly Majestic!

Some other birds

Here are also some monkeys. You'll see this really friendly gibbon seemingly dancing on the walkway, sorry forgot her name and also this lazy orangutan.

The dancing gibbon

I waited for this guy to move for 20 mins and all he did was lay there
and look at me.

Gibbon with an attitude

You can now move on to the Sun Bear enclosure and yes you can feed them with Bananas :) I recommend watching them feed, I've never seen anything eat a banana that fast before!

A sun bear with his banana

You can also see some big cats here. All of them are pacing including the tigers, white tigers, and leopards. Others are laughing like the hyenas. But be careful, don't put your hand in between the cage openings or I'm sure you'll have a pretty bad time. One of them roared at us while we were taking pictures and I assure you it's nothing like the ones you hear on TV, we nearly jumped for fear he'll escape anytime!

Bengal Tiger?

A white tiger

A leopard

We also saw some wonderful birds. (btw, I've posted some pics of those I took when we went there back in 2008)

A bird, sorry don't know the name

One of the fastest land birds, the ostrich

Some doves in their house

Wonderful blue bird

The Kalaw or hornbill

A kingfisher

Once that's over you can go to the Arapaima feeding center and buy some chicken heads for feeding. I also recommend this activity, you'll experience just how powerful they are.

Throwing the chicken heads to hungry arapaimas

That's Php 20 per cup of chicken heads

Some hungry mouths to feed

Here are some of their lions. It's a treat to hear them ROAR!!!

The lions

Oh! And here's a picture of the lunch we head. Simply delicious especially if you've been walking around for hours.

Grilled delights!

Here are some of their snakes and tegus in their reptile enclosures.

A snake

This one's scary

A sunbathing Tegu

Now onto one of their newest areas, here you'll see Timon and the wonderfully cute prairie dog.

Here's the meerkat

The iconic meerkat pose, is Timon looking for Pumbaa?

A bat-eared fox

The prairie dog was actually burrowing that time and it was a fun thing to watch.

Whatcha lookin' at?

Come at me bro'. hahaha. This guy's cute!

Here's a tamarin monkey

You can also visit an eagle, an owl, and a hawk. The hawk reminds me of Dermott from the adventure series Sinbad while the owl kept on ignoring me. you can have your picture taken with them too

The eagle, hawk, and owl.

The sea eagle

The hawk

Bored and sleepy owl

You can also have a picture with the Orangutans and in the other area with some pythons/constrictors.

Dressed orangutan

I also saw some really cute Wallabys there, here's a snap!

The Wallaby

Here's the weird Malayan Tapir and some crocs.

Malayan Tapir

An Albino Croc

Another croc

That's a wrap! So, if you want to experience a different type of Zoo that's near the metro head on over to the Avilon Zoo. In case you're wondering, I've also posted details below of the Ark Avilon Zoo which is nearer. I'll also post a feature on Zoobic Safari once I've organized the pics. Thanks and see ya later!


Ark Avilon
Frontera Verde, Ortigas Avenue corner C-5,
Pasig City, Philippines
Tel. Nos.: (632) 706-2992, (632) 706-2993
Email: arkavilonzoo@gmail.com