during our visit, we saw the following animals:
a. horses
b. zebras >> such shy animals. if you try to come near, they would (tendency) to move away ... or it's probably because they are camera shy :D
c. calamian deer >> "calamian" ... these are local breeds ... home-made in the calamian group of islands. by the way, coron is part of the calamian group of islands.
d. giraffes >> we saw many giraffes. if i'm not mistaken and if i was listening attentively, the tour guide/care taker mentioned that there were 40 giraffes living on the island.
>> TIP: try feeding the giraffes. this is a must try. personally, we enjoyed feeding ATHENA, the most friendly among the group.
e. porcupines >> they do have hard spikes. lucky us, we were able to touch one. we noticed that they were restless ... maybe because we were disturbing their sleep. porcupines are nocturnal animals. they sleep during the day and are wide awake at night. kuya rolly, the guide said that porcupines are farmers' "enemies" for the former steal the latter’s crops once the sun is out of sight.
f. monkeys >> our distant relatives. these ones are very playful. there were two male and one female monkeys in captivity . a divider separates the male from the female.
g. bear cat >> this specie is a cross between the bear and cat families.
h. crocodile >> fresh water crocodiles ... however, only one went out of their hole
i.narra tree >> the philippines’ national tree
j. banato tree >> have you seen a camouflage tree? CAMOUFLAGE? army-print? YES! we do have one ... presenting the BANATO tree!
learned something a thing or two ...
>>> is a zebra black with white stripes or white with black stripes? <<<
>>>what is an antler? and antelope? <<<
some tips:
1. if you're coming from coron town proper, leave early so you would be able to catch the animals' feeding time. unlucky us, we were very tired the day before we did this trip and instead of leaving at 4AM, we started heading for the road it was at 4:30AM.
2. bring food for your breakfast ... so you won't experience the “nightmare breakfast” we had ... :(
3. before going, ask your guide what would be the best mode of transportation ... from coron town proper, it's almost a 3.5-hr drive and 15-20 minutes boat ride ... but you can also opt to have a full 3-hr boat ride instead.
the choice of transportation would depend on the season ... the size of the waves ... and the moolah!.
a van can be rented for PhP5000 (with side trips to some other spots) and for the boat, i think it's around PhP8000, for the straight boat ride. the 15-20 minute boat ride for crossing the island is around PhP600.
*rates mentioned were as of june 2008.
referrals:
>> diy coron by oferrer
>> patrik's place at coron town
