It was Christmas when my cousin, Ariane, decided to spend some time at the Davao Crocodile Park. Despite the park’s name, there are various kinds of animals that can also be seen at this Davao tourist spot, including the Philippine deer, lamb, turtle, orangutan, bearcat, warty pig, paniki, and some endangered species. We availed of the package deal, which allowed us to explore the Davao Crocodile Park, Davao Butterfly House, and Tribu Kamindanawan. The package is priced at P200 for adults and P100 for children (entrance fee included).
Davao Crocodile Park can be considered a zoo, but it is actually better known for its state-of-the-art crocodile farming system in the Philippines. I’m not exactly sure what that means, but from what I observed, the animals kept there seem to be well-fed.
I know there are more faces than zoo shots in the photos, but I honestly forgot I was planning to blog about my visit. So, I apologize for the lack of photos. I also forgot to take pictures of the amenities because I was having such a great time with my cousins and niece. I only remembered that I was supposed to blog about my mini adventures when we visited Eden Park on December 26. It’s funny because we were set to return to Manila that same day. So much for hoarding useful photos for my blog!
I wasn’t able to take a photo of the snakes curled up on the tree branches because the glass was dirty from the inside. So, I just took a photo of their statue instead — forgive me. It was fascinating to witness the snakes shedding their skin. I also found it amusing to see them start moving when I tried to mimic their motions with my hand. Incredible!
Look at that, a yellow crocodile!
Colorful birds!
Rabbit(s) that you can touch.
While we were approaching the ostrich area, we saw a group of Manileños feeding some ostriches. This activity required a fee, though I can’t quite remember how much it was. Some of them were screaming because the hungry ostriches seemed a bit aggressive. However, they mentioned that the ostriches’ beaks didn’t hurt them.
This is Pangil, the crocodile that has been featured in several TV shows here in the Philippines. Pangil was a bit mischievous. Want to know why? Check out this video.
My favorite — the tiger! It was pooping when I took a photo of it. You can also feed it and take a picture with it for a fee.
- Hornbill – It’s the only bird that has eyelashes. Plus, when it falls in love, it remains loyal — in other words, hornbills practice monogamy. They have very good vision, which allows them to catch food thrown in the air. It’s actually true; we were able to witness it!
- There was one bird species (I forgot its name, sorry) that was truly amazing. Birds of this species can play basketball, know how to segregate biodegradable and non-biodegradable items, and can even ride a bike and a scooter. These birds are from Australia, and they are already endangered. They are so adorable and stout, in my opinion (or maybe they just look that way because of their fluffy white feathers).
- We had our very own Pangil encounter. Pangil is the largest living crocodile in the country. It gave us a free, unwanted shower, as you may have seen in the video above.
- Did you know? Crocodiles gape because that’s their way of releasing heat from their bodies since they don’t perspire. Also, the most expensive part of their skin is the underside.
- Crocodiles are fed by a keeper. It is quite scary to look at since the crocodiles seem to be so strong. It’s a good thing they’re only baby crocodiles.
- Want to see how a crocodile dances? Look!
Last, but definitely not the least, a man crossed a rope while crocodiles were waiting for him on the ground. Let’s see how he fared.
Next, we went to the Davao Butterfly House, which is about 200 meters away from the Davao Crocodile Park. When we arrived, there weren’t as many butterflies as I had expected. The reason? A guy was catching butterflies to be used for a wedding ceremony. How romantic!
While going back to Crocodile Park, we saw this Farmville House. The kids loved it, so we still managed to stay there even if it was already 4 in the afternoon.
We headed to Tribu Kamindanawan after that. There, we were able to see native houses. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to take photos of the houses. Nevertheless, we still took pictures of the musical instruments they had. The kids had already been playing the instruments for a while when the guard informed us that playing them wasn’t allowed. Haha!
There were also souvenir stores around the area with many goodies to be found!
We enjoyed the place for almost four hours, and then we hailed a cab afterward. It’s far from the city, but since Davao is traffic-free, we didn’t worry much about the cab fare.
With this trip, I can truly say that I’m a kid at heart!
Davao Crocodile Park Address: Riverfront, Corporate City, Diversion Highway Ma-a, Davao City, Philippines
Phone: (082) 286-8883 or (082) 286-1054
Disclaimer: Not a sponsored post
