First-time in Zoofari at SM Bacolod

There’s a zoo/safari inside a mall!

SM City Bacolod recently opened its Zoofari, which is open from January 29, 2016 (Thursday) to January 31, 2016 (Sunday) at 1:00 pm to 9:00 pm. For an entrance donation of Php 50.00 (almost USD 1.00) per person, guests get to contribute to SM Foundation’s environmental projects. Interestingly, this is the 6th year that the Zoofari has been held in this mall. SM City is located at the reclamation area of Bacolod City, Negros Occidental, Philippines.

Zoofari
The Zoofari only runs for four days.

The four-day Zoofari is made possible in conjunction with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and El Toro Zoo de La Castellana. Trained zookeepers are at hand to make sure that guests do not disturb the animals and not in harm’s way.

Zoofari
The Zoofari welcome archway.

Upon entering the facility, which is the old SM Appliance Center across the SM Supermarket, visitors will get to view the artificial pond where the turtles are kept. It’s like a mini-oasis that features the iguana and the snakes suspended from the ceiling.

Zoofari
The mini oasis. Can you see the iguana and snakes hanging from the ceiling?

The miniature horses and the donkey can also be found near the entrance area.

miniature horse
Is this a pinata? Nope, it’s a live miniature horse.

Different kinds of birds lined up one part of the wall. Other fowl species and tiny pigs are found at the center area.

piglets
Cute piglets.

 

birds
Birds of different kinds are found at the Zoofari.

 

Zoofari
Looks like…an ostrich? an emu?

Large pythons and various types of serpents and reptiles occupied a certain section.

albino snake
Albino snake.

 

iguana
The iguana.

Interestingly, I saw a tokay gecko the day before in our house and I remembered the incident while viewing the reptiles.

gecko
Tokay gecko that I saw in our house.

Arachnids in small transparent cases are displayed at the end of the room.

tarantula
Tarantula

The other side of the room had the crocodile, the bearcat, the leopard cat, the Asian civet cat, and the black apes.

leopard cat
Beautiful leopard cat.

The rest of the animals in the fowl family, such as the peafowl, the golden pheasant, and the egret, are found at the opposite end of the room, going towards the exit.

peacock
The Indian peacock.

All in all, the children had fun, though some were terrified by the animals. It was an educational experience for the children, and also for us adults.

Victoria crowned pigeon
Victoria crowned pigeon. My fave among all the animals at the Zoofari.

33 Comments

  1. Wow that’s awesome. My 2 little brothers would love that. We used to live in Bacolod. It’s great to see the city starting to grow and prosper. Looks like a great family bonding experience if you visit this place. Thanks for sharing. Keep it up!

  2. Oh how I would love to visit here. What an experience and the kids would love to see those animals all up close and personal.

  3. Elizabeth O.

    What a nice place to bring the kids! I bet they had an amazing time. Can’t believe this took place in a mall.

  4. That peacock and pigeon. So beautiful. I wanna see them too. I wonder if Sm Cebu will have a zoofari too.

  5. What a fun place to spend the day! I love that they have so many different animals and creatures to check out. Kids would never be bored there. 🙂

  6. It’s nice to see a mini zoo in the middle of the mall. People can learn a lot from the different animals here.

  7. Very nice to look at. But sometimes it is sad for the animals to be in captivity.

  8. Nice move that helps educate more people who frequently visit malls rater than parks and wildlife.

  9. A zoo inside a mall? What a wonderful concept they have…hope we have that here in Davao City. Cool and fun idea.

  10. Was the whole zoofari indoor? Isn’t that a little stressful to the animals? Anyway, the 50 pesos ticket entrance is actually sulit considering the animals there.

  11. Wow I love the idea and concept of Zoofari, its actually brings people get closer to animal and like them. A good move by SM.

  12. The piglets are so adorable!! It’s great that kids in Bacolod have a cool place to visit now! 😀

  13. i really dont like zoos or anything like it because they cage animals. </3 but those animals in the photos looked awesome! esp the indian peacock.

  14. Is that a pinata? lol

  15. Such a cute place!! I wish I was in the Phillipines to visit this…

  16. The Victorian crowned pigeon is my favorite too!! All the birds look awesome and I’d want that Leopard cat as a pet!!

  17. the tarantula scared me so much whilst i was looking at the photos. the miniature horse is so cute

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.