Bolinao Texas

WHEN a resident of the western Pangasinan town of Bolinao was preparing to migrate to the United States a year ago, he was in a quandary: He did not know what to do with his four pet freshwater turtles.

An Australian tourist in town also did not know where to leave his pet monkey when it was time for him to go home. Same with a local government employee, who could no longer take care of her rabbits.

Their problems were solved as a resort in Arnedo Village decided to welcome their pets and care for them in its mini-zoo.

The zoo at Rock Garden Resort was given a permit by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources last year as a shelter for animals, but this was what the resort had been doing long before the permit was given, said resort owner Virgilio Solis Jr.

Solis, the provincial administrator, said the owners of the animals could claim their pets later if they wanted to.

He said the zoo started with two pairs of lovebirds he bought from local pet shops. “I’m very fond of these creatures even as a boy,” he said.

He said he used to wake up to the chirping of birds and he thought it would be nice if the resort’s guests could also experience the thrill of listening to singing birds in the morning.

“This is why when my family built this resort in the 1990s, I decided to allot an area for these birds,” he said.

But more than that, he also wanted children in the town to learn to love animals and not to hurt or kill them.

Educational center

The zoo has become an educational center of sorts in the town, with students coming in droves to see and enjoy the birds. Each cage is marked with the common and scientific names, and the pet names (a pair of birds were called “Jules” and “Assunta”), of the animals for their easy identification.

Solis said he also talked with village officials and residents about taking care of animals, in the process converting most of them into animal lovers.

The zoo has other animals, too, but its bulk of collection are birds—lovebirds, a heron, an egret, a hummingbird, pigeons, a cockatoo, a hawk, a myna, a parrot, and the biggest of them all, a pair of ostriches. The collection also includes wild boar, a deer and turtles.

Unfortunately, the native fighting cock of Bolinao, called the “Boltex” (coined from “Bolinao Texas”), is missing from the zoo.

Solis said they used to keep Boltex in the zoo but they strayed. The Boltex can now be found only in the town’s forested areas, he said.

“Overseeing” the animals is the statue of a tikbalang sitting atop a balete tree. The tikbalang is a half-man, half-horse creature of Filipino folklore. It smokes a cigar and haunts girls, which explains the nearby statue of a walking girl.

While the tikbalang is mythical, Solis wants the younger generation to get to know it. This is why the creature is depicted not in a menacing stance, but holding a microphone, as if singing.

Solis said he does not know how much was being spent for the animals’ upkeep, food and medicines. “But what I know is how much happiness is derived by the visitors and the children from seeing the animals,” he said.

“They entertain the visitors, although some funny incidents occasionally happen, as when a myna shouts, ‘Pangit!’ (Ugly!) at guests,” he said.