DENR's Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife in Quezon City

Inside that cage, perched on the dried log is a Philippine hawk eagle.

Last time I visited the place was when I was 12 years old. Back then, it was still known as the QC Parks and Wildlife.


Why we went there
It was no-school day for the kids because of the Quezon City day non-working holiday. For a change in scenery, we visited the park named after the Philippine president namesake Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife.

It's along Quezon Boulevard, a bit walkable from the MRT Quezon Ave. station if you don't mind sweating. However, you may take any jeep that passes that road and pay the minimum fare of Php8. It's in front of the Philippine Lung Center, and beside semi-private Lungsod ng Kabataan or Philippine Children's Hospital.

A lot of endemic animals may be seen at the Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife - I think all of them?

What to see inside Ninoy Aquino Parks & Wildlife
For the Php3 for kids and Php5 for adults entrance fee, one may stay and roam around the huge park. I spotted some informal settlers near the forest trail, their houses looked like they are.

Don't expect Avilon Zoo level in terms of quantity of animals, and maintenance. The place is run by Department of Environment and Natural Resources. They have an office at the Visayas Avenue side of the park. That means government institution. You may park on this side, by the way.

The zoo is open until 4PM so we visited that first. However, I was distracted with some tall cages in between trees and found out what they were. The trail led to a series of bird cages that I think are 5-star for animals in terms of accommodation among all the zoos I've seen. Why? Because trees are inside and they are really tall and wide structures. The birds may fly a bit more freely.

This Philippine Hawk Eagle is not inside a cage, intentionally left there for picture loving Pinoys

The foliage in the place almost resembled a rainforest, giving the animals more shelter. Honestly, you wouldn't think you were in the heart of the metro if you're there.

The path also led to a nipa hut of various types of fish, a small pond of numerous turtles. There were unused swamp-ponds, and I was almost at the look out for crocodiles. Though I'm sure there aren't, it seems that's how forest-like the place is.


Overweight crocodile and snake
Inside the main zoo, there are cockatoos, eagles or lawin, Philippine Eagle Owls, Philippine Serpent Owls, bats, monitor lizards or bayawak - theirs looked very old and gaunt, crocodiles, snakes, monkeys.

This is a fine-looking animal, and looks like a Philippine meerkat. Though I'm not sure really.

Treehuts
Picnic areas are available for free, and if you're lucky, there are huge nipa houses where you may stay. They are really big, comfortable to fit 10 people.


Stage Area
There is also a stage where perhaps cultural shows are done. When we visited the park, a meeting of all-men and all-women groups were being held simultaneously. Surrounding the stage are seats enough to fit 100 people.


Man-made lake
From the stage, we were able to see a floating house on stilts on the man-made lake. Ill-prepared, I didn't let the kids wander off there thinking dengue-causing mosquitoes are present.


Who goes there
I was surprised to see lots of SLR-toting people, with made-up models with them. So this is where camera enthusiasts meet?

There were also lots of students in uniform - elementary, high school, college. Families with little babies have picnics too.


What I love best
There were many other mini-zoos around the place, right side of the main entrance. However, I didn't check them out. I was thinking bad guys may lurk and rob us? Or the kids may trip and the ground was not very clean, because of the rain.

There were a lot more that I didn't check. However, I was glad to chance upon the HARIBON with the Manny Pacquiao tarpaulin poster in it. I have read in the Philippine Daily Inquirer that Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife houses a Philippine Eagle because it is blind and therefore it may not thrive in the wild.

They need their clear vision to hunt for food. So the blind, young eagle stays there. It has the biggest cage, though it would be better to make it thrice bigger just to see it fly?