Cebu Zoo: A haven for rescued animals no more

Cebu City zoo OIC Dr. Pilar Romero interview by CDN reporter at Cebu City zoo. Above are the preserved birds after they died at the zoo. (CDN PHOTO/TONEE DESPOJO)

(Conclusion)

When Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña gave off the impression that he didn’t care about what will happen to the animals at the Cebu Zoo by leaving the facility with no one to care for them, it was not true at all.

Well, at least, there is one animal among about 300 in the zoo that Osmeña cared about.

So far, the mayor has only shown interest in taking back a Philippine Cockatoo, which he earlier placed in the facility.

During a visit by Cebu Daily News at the zoo on Thursday, the cockatoo was still there and even knows how to say the word “hello.”

Swap deal
Osmeña’s only clear statement about the fate of the Cebu Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Office (CWRCPO) was that it can become a part of the properties that the city government will swap with the Cebu provincial government for the resolution of the 93-1 lot dispute, an unsettled land swap proposal between the city government and the Capitol to settle the fate of about 5,000 families occupying province-owned lots. But until this is done and the fate of the animals is decided, they have to continue to tend to the animals, said Dr. Pilar Romero, the former Cebu City veterinarian and head of the city’s Department of Veterinary Medicine and Fisheries (DVMF) before she was reassigned by Osmeña as head of the CWRCPO.

“I’ve been told by some city officials that this (the zoo) will be closed. I asked is it immediate? When? They said no. So I told them that until then, they should give us a budget to take care of this facility, especially in terms of food for the animals,” said Romero.

But Romero lamented that without enough budget from City Hall, their food supplies for the animals in the facility are almost all used up.

As of Thursday, Romero noted that their stock of meat for the carnivorous animals, as well as fruits and feeder pellets, could likely only last until Friday.

She said she even already used her personal money to buy 200 pieces of bananas to feed the birds and monkeys on Thursday.

But aside from the feeding of the animals, Romero said she was also concerned about the animals’ overall mood and health.

“Yes, they are still fed. But they are lonely. You can really see it. When I fed the huge cage with birds, they hesitated and only pecked on some of the food. But when their old caretaker went inside to feed them, they really swarmed around him. You can see they were happy,” she said.

Romero said they were also concerned with their biggest crocodile in the facility which threw away a slab of pork meat they fed him on Thursday. She said the crocodile might want to eat a chicken instead.

She said that as much as she can, she will continue to look for ways to be able to secure food to feed the animals. Romero also appealed to private donors who would want to donate food for the animals.

Plan B
And while struggling to make do, Romero said they are already preparing for a Plan B in case the closure of the facility pushes through soon.

“We’re trying to contact the old owners of some of the animals that were donated. Maybe they can take them back,” she said.

As for the others, she said they’re eyeing the possibility of turning over the animals to the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR-7) for caretaking and possible referral to other facilities.

No way, she said, that they could just watch the animals starve and die.