Village of St. Jude Bird Park
We all went on field trips at some point in our lives, and as varied as our itineraries were, field trips were never complete without a trip to the zoo.
Unfortunately, as entertaining and helpful as those trips were, most of the major zoos in the country are a considerable driving distance away from the province, so they were mostly saved for that once a year event. Well, that is until someone came up with the idea of building a mini zoo in the city.
Yup. We have a mini zoo right here in Lucena City.
Located at Village of St. Jude East, a private residential area just a short walk away from the parking lot of SM City Lucena, the Village of St. Jude Bird’s Park houses around fifty animals in an estimated 1,500 square meters of land surrounded by thick foliage. It was initially opened in 1999 as part of the amenities that residents of the village get to enjoy, but it eventually became open to the public with families, and sometimes even classes, taking short tours around the premises for no charge at all.
Mostly housing birds like the Pied Imperial Pigeon; Rufous Night Heron; Brahminy Kites; and Serpent Eagles, the park is also home to other common and rare animals that can be found in the country such as Burmese Pythons; turtles; Long-tailed Macaques (a breed of monkeys); mouse deers (pilandok); palm civets (musang); and wild boars (baboy damo).
Inside VSJ Bird Park
At present, the park is maintained by a caretaker whose duties include feeding the animals every morning (or as often as necessary, depending on the specific animal’s needs), cleaning their cages, watching over the animals from the time the park opens at seven in the morning to five in the afternoon, and making occasional calls to the veterinary hired by the village to check up on the animals.
Sometimes, they also breed animals in the park; the products of which include chickens, deers, wild boars, and different types of fishes. Some of them are no longer there, although they do accept animals donated by pet owners who can no longer take care of their pets, so they are somewhat able to balance the population of the animals at the park.
Aside from the daily feeding and cleaning, the park mostly enjoys quiet afternoons, except when there are field trips or family tours or when monkeys occasionally throw a tantrum. Why don’t you go and pay it a visit sometime? The park is open Monday to Sunday, including holidays, so you can go in anytime.
Have fun!
Sources:
Leonardo Aductante
Caretaker, Bird’s Park
Carding Jaca
Employee, Village of St. Jude East
Philippine Peso