Crocodiles ‘invade’ Pasay
By Frances Gumapac
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 08:03:00 02/11/2008
Filed Under: Animals
THE CAROUSELS have long stopped spinning, the roller coasters pulled out and the circus tents dismantled.
But an even more exotic act has replaced the old attractions in this amusement park by the bay known for its heart-stopping rides and entertaining sideshows.
Metro Manilans can now experience a taste of the wild side with a show featuring 200 crocodiles, four belonging to the endangered Philippine freshwater crocodiles species, with marmots, alpacas and other animals on the side.
They have been flown in from Mindanao for the Davao Crocodile Park Roadshow and Wildlife Encounter, now on exhibit at the 11-hectare Boomland (formerly Boom na Boom Complex) on Roxas Boulevard in Pasay City.
The event, which will run until the end of the month, offers city folk a chance to sample, hands on, an encounter with wildlife as they touch and take photos of the animals, with the assistance of park attendants.
The idea for the road show began with a person’s unusual interest in these scaly reptiles.
“My fascination with crocodiles began in the 1980s,” said Sonny Dizon, owner of the Davao Crocodile Park in Davao City. On a business trip to New York, Dizon saw footwear made of crocodile skin in a shoe store selling the merchandise at $800 a pair.
From there, a lucrative business plan was formulated, especially after Dizon learned that crocodiles are raised in the United States and Australia not just for public viewing but for the manufacture of shoes and bags as well.
“It was then that I toyed with the idea of creating a crocodile farm in the Philippines,” he said.
In 1995, the government granted the Davao Crocodile Park Inc. (DCPI) accreditation and a permit to operate.
But what started out as a business venture eventually led to a commitment to conserve these remarkable creatures. “Conserving and preserving our wildlife would help sustain jobs in the long run for our fellowmen,” Dizon told the Inquirer.
The DCPI is doing its fair share in educating people about endangered species by bringing the show to different places in the country, with Manila as one of its stops. As an added bonus, professional acrobats will perform a tightrope balancing act over a pond filled with 67 crocodiles.
Apart from the crocodiles, also featured are 28 other exotic animals, including an orangutan, a civet, marmots, an alpaca, Palawan bear cats, wild boars, a tiger, raptors, Philippine deer and an albino python, among others.
The DCPI is a privately owned rescue unit for wildlife. So far, it has released 43 Philippine freshwater crocodiles (Crocodylus mindorensis) to the Mandug Conservation area in Davao City, with the hope that this move will increase the hatching process and survival rate of the reptiles.
The vicinity has a huge freshwater area reminiscent of the natural habitat of the endangered species.
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