Going Places | Zoobic Safari


Before we went home on our last holiday we also went on the Zoobic Safari tour. Boasted  as the only Tiger Safari in the Philippines, we were treated to a different type of Zoo experience.

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Location

Group 1 Ilanin Forest, Forrest Adventure, Subic Bay Freeport Zone
Tel. (047) 252-2272 ; (02) 847-0413
Open daily from Monday-Sunday 8:00 am - 4pm 
Rates:
P695/ adult
P595 / child 3ft-4ft
Free of Charge 3 ft below
*Discounted tickets can also be purchased online


Zoos are attractions that I remember going to as a child and I've taken my son too. But it has always left me with a pang of guilt that these majestic creatures are caged or chained. It bothers me that they are not free and I wouldn't know how they are really treated. I don't want to sound negative with this post but I can't help not comment on what I saw.

The tour was supposed to be for 2.5 hours and while we were waiting for it to start we were already treated to tigers up close. we saw 2 adult tigers and 1 lioness in cages that didn't encourage activity and 2 baby tigers tourist can take a picture of.


These babies were born in captivity. They have never experienced the life in the wild. They look cute but they are reduced to attractions. Customers pay about $6/Php250 to get a picture with them. Looking at it from a different angle, we have more lions, tigers, and even ligers now because they are successful in breeding them in captivity.

When the tour started we first got to see the reptile house.




Then we rode a tram that took us to the Tigers, Lions, and Ligers.





I was a little abhorred by their living conditions. I kept asking the tour guide and the keepers if these big cats were ever let out of their cages.  According to one of the keepers they are alternately let out during the weekends. I wondered what goes on in their heads when they see tourist like me looking at them from behind those iron bars. Their eyes look sad.

The next part of the tour was mostly exhibits inside converted ammunition bunkers. For those who don't know, the Subic Freeport Zone used to be a military base and there were bunkers built all over the place that are now being used for other purposes.

Tiger Safari

After a short break to get some snacks we boarded a Jeepney fitted to prevent the animals from getting in (and for the passengers to get out and get bitten) to finally go to the main attraction - the Tiger Safari. We paid $4/Php200 for a whole chicken to feed the Tigers.





There were 2 Tigers in the Safari area and their names were Tom and Jerry






A keeper rode with us and he fed the tigers through the bars of the Jeepney. It felt like the Tigers were already trained to eat from the windows and to even board the jeep when the keeper threw a piece of chicken on the roof. 

We boarded the tram again and passed by the other animals they were keeping - Ostriches, Zebras, Horses, a lot of native black pigs (I hope they don't become cat food in the long run), sheep, deer, etc. Our next attraction was the Croc Pit.





According to our guide and the signs, there were about 100 Crocodiles in the pit.
We also go to try to feed them for $1/Php50 per piece of chicken.


At the end of the Croc tour we could take a picture with a Boa and a small croc.


This little one had tape wrapped around it's mouth.

The final part of the tour consisted of a short dance performance by Aetas, and a tour of a bone museum. The Aeta (Ayta /ˈaɪtə/ EYE-tə), or Agta, are an indigenous people who live in scattered, isolated mountainous parts of the island of Luzon, the Philippines. [1] 

All in all, this tour was an enlightening and gut wrenching experience. I feel guilty for being on the outside of the cages but these animals also need the tourist money for them to eat. They wouldn't need that in the first place if they were in the wild. It's a vicious cylce. 

Do we need Zoos? In a manner we might. Zoos exist to educate man about the animals in the wild and help bridge the connection for us to care for these creatures. It's just sad that not all zoos are well funded and the animals well kept. 

What do you think of Zoos? 

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