Father Tropa's Mini Zoo

Well, perhaps you wonder why I called it 'Mini Zoo'. Don't laugh but it's my first time visiting a zoo. I thought  they have many animals there but I found out they have a few and most of it are monkeys in cages.

Only baby monkeys are allowed to roam outside the case. They are harmless. When I was there, one baby monkey, the size of a medium puppy but slender of course, was following me with hand/paw open begging for food. I felt sorry for it. I was not thinking of bringing food there or at least some ripe bananas, sure that small little thing will be happy.

We paid the entrance fee of 20 pesos each, 10 pesos for kids. The care takers there are mostly elderly, I think in their 50s or more. They were all barefoot with their long not-so groom hairs. We watched the animals first. There were geese, crocodiles, monkeys, guinea pigs (lots of them), a crow, turtles, a deer, wild boar and a toothless snake.

The crocodiles are in metal cages approximately 4 square meters in pairs. Inside is a water in a cemented area where they can wet their bodies. When I was there, I thought the crocodiles were dead. They just lied there motionless. If I did not watch the throat carefully, then I could hardly see its moving. I heard rumours that if a customer will bring a cat, the entrance fee is free. They will throw the cat inside the cage and let the crocodile catch it alive and be eaten. How bad it would be for the cat!

Roaming around we saw a wild boar in its cage. One of the caretaker there was feeding some leaves and I saw how he made the boar cooperate. He needed only to brush the boar's hair with a comb and the effect was like heaven for it, because it sits and sleep. He said, the boar only acknowledge his company and no one else.

Then, we continue our tour and we saw a deer alone in a cage too. It was gross! I meant the cage. They did not even clean it. It was so dirty full of shit.

Father Tropa's Museum

After thirty minutes of roaming around the place, my mom and I went to the Museum. There was a collection of stuff animals they preserved after the real thing died. So many of it, there were a big orangutan, variety of birds, a fox, and some other instinct animals plus a collection of memorabilia the founder, Father Tropa, collected.

Then the caretaker of the museum showed us the Snake without teeth. That's how he described it and he said, its harmless to touch it. But even if it's harmless, seeing its a snake still was so scary for me. I did not dare touch it. They other visitors did.

I though a zoo has lots of animals, but what they have is fewer than I thought. My former employer in Dumaguete city has more and they don't have a zoo.

Way to 100 Steps Downstairs

Eventhough, the zoo might not impress you but the place might be. It's a natural park. Inside has lots of big Ipil-Ipil trees arranged in line. There is also a road good enough for four wheelers. Its maintained well. It would really be nice for spending time alone for meditation or perhaps a good place for dating.

They have also few swings inside the park which I think is good for kids. The environment is so fresh and you can hear birds singing like in a real forest. The place is also good for joggers and hikers since its covered by big trees, you don't need to worry for getting sunburn, lol.