ANIMAL DAY

Feb. 25 2011 was an animal day. I saw live animals that I only see in TV for the first time. It was a great experience. Thanks to my friend JOV for treating me. MANILA ZOO and MANILA OCEAN PARK was a great experience. 


This is Jov. 

When you get off from the taxi, these birds are the first animal you’ll see before getting in the zoo. They’re for sale. I didn’t ask for the price. I pity them.  (They should be flapping their wings above our heads)

These are real chicks. They are tinted with bright colors.  Looking at them, I could see their fate.  They were suffering from the scorching heat of the sun. (I remember when I was a kid, I had a hen. My Lola gave me. I tied it at our backyard. I woke up the next day and saw her dead. It was the bright morning sunshine the killed her. She was trying to avoid the sunshine but she was tied)

And the narcissistic me. Getting in manila zoo will cost you 40php. As soon as you get in, the largest land animal will welcome you. Sadly, it looks unhealthy. He deserves to be in his natural habitat with his relatives and friends. Thanks to Lightroom for the warm touch with this photo. at least it looks like we were in Africa- one of its natural habitats.  

I didn’t care about its name so I don’t know what snake is that (it looks like a Python).  It feeds on a live chicken. There are live chickens in that large terrarium too, unfortunately I didn’t shoot them.  (How I wished I saw it feasting on its prey with its constricting power. Live food chain in action)

Poor Philippine Deer with no grass to feed on. I wish he was on his natural habitat. 

While looking at this poor endangered animal, I heard some people talked about how they used to catch this animal in the forest. They ate them and got a week supply of meat. They said "Now they’re gone." I just realized Filipinos needs to be educated about protecting animals. 

Patience will keep me alive

The zebra was shy. I wanted to take a full-body shot but I couldn’t.  He was busy talking to his friend.

Next, we were in Ocean Park.  We watched a sea lion show and were amazed by its talent.

 Nana, Ate Nids, and the star!

Flash photography is not allowed in Ocean Park’s Oceanarium. But people were still were using it. I wanted to tell them about it or turn their flashes off if they don’t know how to do it. The Ocean Park lady kept on saying “turn your camera flashes off because it will damage the fishes’ eyes” but people didn’t seem to listen. We took our camera out and took a shot. Click! Oooops! Oh shit! Our camera flashed. Now we’re one of those people who didn’t seem to understand the rules. Shame.

This creature is art.

I used to see watch them in national geographic. Sharks
(noisy photo)

Jellyfish world. Thank the mirror for making them look amazing. I love illusions…

 It felt like he was talking to me.  Was he asking something? I wanted to touch him but I was scared, he might bite me.  I looked into his eyes and he also looked into mine. It was a religious experience. I felt something unexplainable.  

We felt so tired after all the day’s activity. 

I have loved animals and nature when I was a kid, though I never had a pet. (My mom and dad hate pets. They throw them away.) This day made me understand why animal activists wants zoo to be banned. I think I feel the same way too. Now, I want them banned. I believe that animals should stay in their natural habitat. But I wouldn’t feel this way without going to a zoo. Do we really need zoos?