Despite the heat I enjoyed my time here. Highlights were the zebras who looked like they were left in the oven too long, the lion sleeping with one paw up in the air and the capybaras swimming. While I enjoyed my visit, I am concerned that some of the larger animals didn’t have enough space in their enclosures, that’s the only reason I deducted a star. The staff were friendly and professional at all times. I would recommend buying tickets online. When I reached the entrance they didn’t appear to have card facilities so I offered cash but then they thought they didn’t have change for a 1000 peso note. So we were trying to get my phone onto the Zoo’s free wifi to book online but my phone didn’t seem to be connecting. I mentioned again that I had cash and then another staff member said she could get some change so we sorted it out that way. Despite this back-and-forth the staff were genuinely trying hard to help which was appreciated.

Glad to see the ticket machines, but manual work at the entrance was still necessary. I wonder why? The long line should be reduced especially on hot days. The renovation/modernization is impressive. We wish that the lion and the tiger had a larger space to roam though. My mother and I missed the elephant and the giraffe, so we hope that there's a plan to acquire these. I personally like the reptile museum as there's an AC for visitors' comfort. I also enjoyed watching the free-flying birds at the lake. Could someone identify them, please? The highlight of our visit was Diana's Corner although there was only a couple of live butterflies then. Some butterflies lay dead in the butterfly room where the chrysalises were. They could've been taken to the garden once they got out. Overall, it was nice to see some progress.

We found paid parking easily after arriving before lunch two days before Christmas. Most people were still at work. There was a clean all gender restroom (unmarked) by the parking lot. An attendant kept track which gender was inside before letting another person. Bring your own toilet paper/ tissue. To get admission tickets was time consuming. Since we’re not from Manila, we paid P300 each. Bring IDs for senior or student discounts and to prove residency. Names and ages of everyone in your group had to be listed (why?) and paying cash was faster, unless you want more forms. It was somewhat easy to manage to walk around while pushing a person on a wheelchair. It got challenging on ramps that went up and down. The place was clean. The restroom inside was clean. I’ve never seen animals placed in the same area such as their Aviary. I’m glad that they are all getting along well. I wished the crocodile had more clean water. Other than that, it was a nice visit.

There are few animal species. There is not much to see. The Butterfly Garden is also open to visitors at no extra charge, but you could only see one species of live butterfly. I enter my age when I enter, and it seems that if you are over 60, you will get a senior discount.