There’s a zoo in the city! Ark Avilon Zoo opens@ Frontera Verde

We’ve never been to the Avilon Zoo in the mountainous area of Montalban. At 7.5 hectares, this zoo touts itself as the largest zoological park in the Philippines. I was glad to find that they’ve opened a branch closer to home, at Frontera Verde where Fun Ranch and Tiendesitas are. The place is called Ark Avilon Zoo because the structure is shaped like the boat. The interiors (such as the huge boulder rocks with the waterfalls) replicate nature and Ark Avilon Zoo houses a number of exotic animals which are sure to fascinate kids and adults alike. I can just imagine many field trips here. The great Avilon Zoo is now more accessible to those living in the city while giving kids a well-rounded experience learning about animals up close and the environment they live in.

Entrance fee to the zoo is P250, but since we visited on the second day of the soft opening, there was a promo price of P125 which saved me a lot for three kids 😀

Among the animals we saw were this albino (white) snake) twirled around the neck of the trainer, a sea eagle, a miniature horse, a couple of pumas, tigers, a sun bear, different monkey varieties (such as the orangutan), bird species, horses and donkeys.

I don’t know what the zoo management plans to do as the days go by because if you ask me, the animal selection is wanting and would not justify the P250 price. I figure that the Montalban zoo is better since it has a large area. It would also help if there are tour guides and educational materials plastered on the walls or the cages.

I will just give credit to Ark Avilon for being more clean and hygienic than that highly deteriorated Manila Zoo. There is no animal smell wafting through. My overall rating: much room for improvement!

More pictures from my Flickr.