After a three-year hiatus, the first zoo in Asia reopens with renovated facilities, rehabilitated water sewerage system and new animals and birds for people to meet
Before 2021 ended, Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso toured the newly refurbished Manila Zoo. For the first time, the public saw the revamped zoo, starting with the families of the construction workers who helped in the PhP1.7 billion project, as well as those who have been working in the zoo under the city’s Public Recreations Bureau (PRB).
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The Manila Zoological and Botanical Garden, simply known as Manila Zoo, has been a central figure in the childhood of every Filipino, it being the staple on educational field trips or the hangout choice of families. PRB director Pio Morabe relates to this very much as he was also once a kid who loved going to the Manila Zoo.
“When I was in grade school, we’d go to Manila Zoo and have fun seeing the animals, the garden and playing there with friends,” Morabe recalls. “This is part of our heritage, just like Intramuros, Luneta and other significant spots around Manila. Generations of families have spent their time in Manila Zoo because it is a very serene and peaceful place,” he says.
At the entrance, a statue of the 47-year-old elephant Maali, the oldest resident of the zoo, welcomes visitors. Aside from a state-of-the-art sewage treatment plant (STP) that treats water in seven stages, the zoo boasts elevated viewing decks around wider animal enclosures, viewing lofts for the botanical and butterfly gardens, a playground near the area for primates, separate sections of the aviary that both have enhanced enclosing spaces and walkways and refurbished sections for reptiles, hippopotamus and apex predators like lions, tigers and hyenas. Most especially, Maali’s home has been widened and the cemented flooring has been changed into hard earth.