Manila Zoo closed for ‘finishing touches’

MANILA, Philippines — The Manila city government closed the Manila Zoo beginning on Tuesday to complete its renovation.

The zoo was shut down for “finishing touches,” Mayor Isko Moreno said in a Facebook post on Monday.

The city public information office did not give a date for its reopening.

The renovated zoo has an Animal Museum, Botanical Garden and Butterfly Garden.

It has been the first and only renovation of the zoo since it opened in 1959, with glass animal enclosures installed as well as elevated viewing decks and pathways for the public.

The zoo was shut down in January 2019 for dumping untreated waste sewage water into Manila Bay during the administration of then mayor Joseph Estrada.

The now renamed Manila Zoological and Botanical Garden had its soft opening last December after it underwent a facelift and its sewage treatment plant was fixed.

Mali, the resident elephant for over 40 years, has been given a bigger enclosure.

Moreno had rejected animal rights groups’ calls to transfer the Sri Lanka-born elephant to an animal sanctuary, citing risks to her health.