Animal house

It was more like a rumor that would make the rounds, and you’d get thumbs-up testimonials from all sort of people; and yet, one would wonder. A privately owned zoo in the middle of where? Montalban, Rizal? One that would be more appealing and attractive to kids and adults than the "blast-from-our-past" Manila Zoo? I’d hear the word Avalon, and wonder if some Arthurian legend had come to life, with wild animals replacing the knights and a wild-maned King of the Beasts replacing King Arthur.

Well, along with my sons (and a nephew), and thanks to a Sky Cable/Animal Planet event, I did finally make it to Avilon (don’t ask me where the "i" came from) Montalban Zoological Park, and can report that I was immeasurably impressed. Tucked away by the foothills of Montalban, it was a pleasant jaunt off Commonwealth, and just past the Wawa dam spillway (there’s an alternate route passing Marikina). One enters the park and is immediately aware that this is no makeshift garden variety collection masquerading as a "zoological park." This is the real thing, spread over 7.5 hectares, and in constant development – only some 70 percent is presently utilized. While the dirt roads on the final stretch to the park belie the development within; the parking area, number of tourist buses and sheer amount of bodies – student groups and excursioning families – are testimonial to how the good word has truly spread.

On my trips abroad with the boys, zoos have been a perennial stopover. Having had the chance to visit the London Zoo, Singapore’s Zoological Gardens, Night Safari and Jurong Birdpark, the zoo at New York’s Central Park, one has seen how with proper funding and public support, the wealth of material and knowledge on zoo administration and management is there to be availed of and applied. And yet, here in the Philippines, we constantly decry the deprived state of what passes as our zoos and wildlife parks. So it was a refreshing eye-opener to walk through the portals of Avilon and take their guided tours (P200/person, lasting for close to two hours).

It may have started as a "pet" project (yes, pun intended) of Joaquin Gaw, but it has blossomed to a veritable tourist attraction that can very well put Montalban on the list of must-see destinations. I had the chance to speak to Gaw, and he credits his long-standing fascination with animals to how the zoological park has come to be. As he says half-jokingly, "It’s starting off with guppies and mynahs, and ending up with lions and tigers."

Yeah, right! How many fish lovers and bird collectors can say they developed a seven-hectare zoological park with toucans, ostriches, leopards, tarantulas, iguanas, armadilloes, bears, eagles, orangutans, gibbons, crocodiles and pythons? Give credit where credit is due. Joaquin may have been spurred on by his wife to take his 30-year long fascination to a new level – but it was eight years in the making to bring Avilon to what it is today. It’s been open to the public for less than a year and already, TV programs like Cito Beltran’s Straight Talk have made beelines to the park to celebrate the existence of such a venue.

The park is owned and run by the Avilon Wildlife Conservation Foundation. Properly accredited with the worldwide association of zoos, Avilon’s importation of exotic and rare animals is only restricted by the reality of the tropical conditions here in the Philippines and the prohibitive maintenance costs of creating suitable environments for animals such as penguins, polar bears and the like. The conservation angle has pushed the park to be much more than a menagerie of unusual animals. Plans are underfoot to diversify the collection, and first in line, are large mammals, like elephants and giraffes, rhinos and hippos.

Gaw readily admits he is one of the least traveled people in this country. The family business is watches; Geliks, Inc. handles the distribution of such watch brands as Adidas, folie folie, Daniel Hechter, the Barbie and Disney watches. Much of the design and management of Avilon is purely homegrown or gleaned from his readings and research. Trial and error, and being ready to accept how mistakes can be made, how modifications and improvements can constantly be applied; these all form the core of how Avilon came to materialize and continues to grow.

As Gaw declares, "The one basic thing we always keep in mind is the welfare and comfort of the animal. We want them to thrive. We have a litter of six-day-old Siberian tiger cubs that we’re so excited about. We realize that no matter what we do to create the ideal ecosystem and environment for our animals; at the very best, we are only replicating to a degree its natural habitat. It’s still artificial. So given that, we are careful not to take on more than what we can handle. Like in the case of feeding, the search for suitable, natural substitutes is a constant concern. With carnivores, it’s not that difficult. While they may not have to hunt, the supply of raw meat can be assured. With the birds, the ones from South America for example, rather than give them synthetic or pelletized foodstuff, we prefer to research, and look for the local fruit that best approximates the indigenous Amazon fruit the bird would forage for."

There’s still a good month of summer holidays before June ushers in the new school year. If you’d like to create a quality weekend with your children, Avilon beckons, well worth the visit and entrance charge. The Saturday morning that I went, from Makati, it took us roughly just over an hour to reach Montalban. The look on my boys’ faces as the orangutan exchanged stares with them was worth the price of admission by itself.

And so I’m really grateful to Sky Cable for having organized this very rewarding Saturday outing. A division of Beyond Cable which gives you the other cable provider options of Home Cable and Sunvision, Sky continues to work with its affiliates and content providers in increasing awareness and branding for its channels. My kids are now bugging me about Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, Cartoon Network and Animax activities.