Calauit Safari Giraffe Feeding Experience

35 75
Avatar for Momentswithmatti
3 years ago
Topics: Trip, Philippines, Travel

Previously, I shared about our two-hour land trip towards Busuanga and the quick boat transfer to Calauit for our Safari experience on the said island. Check the article below:

Safari in Coron?

I acquired a lot of information about the park from one of the park's caretakers, a local who loves her job but also felt very unappreciated due to the lack of support. However, she said she loves taking care of the animals thus she stays.

We hiked on foot a few minutes from the main welcome center. An old jeep was available but it was used to transport visitors to the park which was the case before but today, they only use the jeepney in bringing in feeds and those tree branches which are the Giraffe's favorite food. We will be feeding the giraffes with that too!

sister in law inside this old jeep

We passed by gorgeous, stunning trees with branches spread out and their leaves are healthy. There were even flowers on the ground and the grasses looked trimmed well! I wonder if this was caused by the numerous people visiting and stepping on the ground or if the animals had fed on the land that's why they are properly trimmed. We then reached a certain gazebo and its fence. There were also benches around the fenced area and another on which somehow reminded me of a pig pen! But no Giraffes around, nor Zebras. No animals at all!

Calling The Giraffes

We were advised to go inside the fenced gazebo, another caretaker came with a gong and then started banging, pounding it. This was the way of calling the animals' attention and it also means one thing - FOOD!

A few moments of silence came, we were looking right and left for any signs of an animal coming. The banging continues and then the caretaker pointed and we looked, a tall orange-spotted creature appeared behind the trees, running, then two smaller ones at its back, also quadropedaling, its neck long and they were heading towards the gazebo. According to the caretaker, they are already very used to the gong, they know that it's mealtime. They go into the forest for shelter and food but it is not enough, the island lacks specific trees and leaves needed for their diet.

We were told to not be afraid as there's a fence but also warned us that Giraffes can't walk backward, they only go forward but they bite and it hurts so we must be cautious of the distance between us and the animal.

Also, these animals love kicking and they kick hard enough to injure a human as it is their attack mechanism, they use it for fighting and protection. So we have to observe proper social distancing between the animals. It was recommended to be five meters away from any giraffes, tall or short, big or small because if they get frightened, they'll kick regardless if they see someone behind or not and you might not wake up the next day. But they do walk gracefully. They seem strong but the truth is that they are weak as well because when they get hurt or get wounded from roaming around trees and bushes, they can't help themselves. When they pass through bamboo trees, they usually get cut and so that explains why we saw purple colors on some of the Giraffe, these were wounds that were treated by the workers.

Feeding the Giraffes

As the tall animals came closer, we were given these with lots of leaves Mangrove branches called Bakhawan which are the Giraffe's favorite! The island is surrounded by mangrove trees thus they have a lot of supplies. We are going to feed them! This means getting close to the animals! I can't help but become excited! I have not fed an exotic animal my whole life, this was the very first!

Hubby and I

The animal leaned towards the gazebo, peeking to see anything good. The caretaker came in first with the branches in her hand, she then offered it to the Giraffe. It started feeding and pulling the leaves out leaving an empty branch. Its tongue was dark and gray, actually closer to being black already, and boy, its eyelashes! I am quite jealous, they got thick and curly eyelashes, they look like they were wearing fake mascaras! It made them look very pretty! I forgot to ask how to distinguish a female from a male!

Brother and sister in law

It was our time to feed them and I got a little scared because this shorter one here just pulled the branch off my hand, it was strong indeed and it uses its tongue to get the leaves! I wanted to hold its face, but I remember it bites too so I ditched the idea.

Every one of us was given time to feed the Giraffes. more Giraffes were coming and in fact, we also spotted some Zebras coming but they stopped to where the water supply and the feeds were placed, they just stayed there. I noticed that the Zebras were going by packs.

Zebras and Calamian Deers

As per the worker, Zebras are more lively and active. But even if they are already used to the crowd, they can still kick and bite just like the Giraffes. It was just cute to see the Zebras marching to the feeding area and a pack of Zebras means there's one male and the rest of them are females. The male has a lot of wives! Lol!

These animals showing their patterns and it was interesting to observe them, wagging their tails and moving their muscles. Most of them lie down on the ground after feeding! They might have been tired!

Another animal to watch out for here is the Calamian Deers. They are distant animals, they don't go close to the crowd or any other animal. These are endemic to the country and they multiply easily.

They arrived late, but since they only feed on grasses, they stayed away and graze on the ground. It was also cool to see them with those longhorns. These are the males while females don't have them. They seem calm though, we just stayed far from them, we used our camera to take close-up photos of these creatures.

More visitors arrived at the park, it was time for us to move on to the other animals and get to a spot with fewer people. We spent some time taking photos, observing the animals and film. We just waited for the signal that we should get back to the welcome center.

Conclusion

It was our first safari experience, our second was that in Cebu which I will also share with you in the future.

Our trip to Calauit was educational and amazingly beautiful that we were able to get close to these safari animals. If you are in Coron, make sure to book a trip to Calauit, you'll enjoy it there.

Read more travel blog articles here:


xoxo,

mommy jean of momentswithmatti

Love harder than any pain you've ever felt.

13
$ 6.35
$ 5.66 from @TheRandomRewarder
$ 0.20 from @ARTicLEE
$ 0.10 from @tired_momma
+ 9
Sponsors of Momentswithmatti
empty
empty
empty
Avatar for Momentswithmatti
3 years ago
Topics: Trip, Philippines, Travel

Comments

The photos are great. And you're right. Giraffe eyelashes are to be jealous!

$ 0.00
3 years ago

Yes.. indeed..they look beautiful with their lashes!

$ 0.00
3 years ago

Oh I've never seen a giraffe face to face. They look cute indeed. Too bad they don't have enough food in the forest there? hehe. At least people can feed them so they can be healthy.

$ 0.01
3 years ago

yeah so they have to add feeds to their diet

$ 0.00
3 years ago

Ang cute ng mga giraffe, akala ko harmless mga yan mura pud diay silag kabayo bah manipa hhehe!

$ 0.01
3 years ago

hahaha as in sis.. mga graceful raba kaau kun molakaw

$ 0.00
3 years ago

di ka mag expect manipa kay maau mo kiay hahha!

$ 0.00
3 years ago

Hahaha lage ay kiay jd ni sla

$ 0.00
3 years ago

Ang galing! I hope pag balik namin mapuntahan din yan. Dami pa di napuntahan jan :) Grabe ang old na nung jeep buti tumatakbo pa rin.

$ 0.01
3 years ago

super sir.. ung kaha nya dami ng rust pero takbo pa din.haha

$ 0.00
3 years ago

I would love to be in Calauit if ever I will be there in Coron. I love animals and it would be beautiful to get close to them

$ 0.01
3 years ago

surely,you'll love it there!

$ 0.00
3 years ago

Definitely. I am loving the experience by just reading so it would be extra nice I will be there.

$ 0.00
3 years ago

Indeed.. it would be an unforgettable experience

$ 0.00
3 years ago

The photographs are very good, they look like something out of a documentary. Without a doubt you visited a beautiful place.

$ 0.01
3 years ago

thank youdear.. i appreciate your kind words!

$ 0.00
3 years ago

Maganda yan sis, getting close and personal with the beautiful giraffes. I've seen some personally but didn't have the chance to feed them :)

$ 0.01
3 years ago

ahh ganun ba sis..hehe masay naman ung feeding n part

$ 0.00
3 years ago

What a great safari experience!! Gusto ko na sana itry yung feeding the giraffe kaso nangangagat pala ahahaha .

$ 0.01
3 years ago

hehe ok lang ung feeding sis.indi naman nakakatakot.. although malakas sila humila ng leaves

$ 0.00
3 years ago

Wanna try it soon po talaga hehe

$ 0.00
3 years ago

Waaah ang gandang experiece naman po yan. Gusto ko din makakita ng girrafe in real life huhu di pa ako nakakakita eh :(

$ 0.01
3 years ago

saan po kau nakabase right now? meron din kasing mga zoos na may mga gnaitong animals like sa cebu safari and sa north din ata...

$ 0.00
3 years ago

If I was there, I think I’d be scared hahaha I am not really into these kinds of adventure. Though I’ve been wanting to try going to the zoo but it never happened. Well, hindi pa. Hehe

$ 0.01
3 years ago

adto mo sa cebu safari dai..naa sad giraffe ddto but limited lang..

$ 0.00
3 years ago

Lahams pa te di pa ko ka afford haha charot sunday rmn ko off gd nako te hehe puhooon nlang

$ 0.00
3 years ago

Ahh mao bah.. sige ra puhon

$ 0.00
3 years ago

It's a beautiful journey they made. They are very brave to be in contact with these animals. These are animals that can bite or kick people so I will watch them from afar. Very nice pictures you took of them.

$ 0.01
3 years ago

thanks a lot dear... yes, they can kick very hard

$ 0.00
3 years ago

Ang bait nman ng mga giraffes🦒 basta di sila mak sense ng danger.. Snw maka kita din ako nywn ng personal, zebra, lions, ostrich, deers pa lng nkikita nmin ng mga kids..

$ 0.01
3 years ago

yes maganda pag anjan din ang mga kids mommy...

$ 0.00
3 years ago

I'd never seen a giraffe, I want to go to zoo to see one, maybe when pandemic ends. Also if I got bunch of money to spend.😅😅

$ 0.01
3 years ago

it won't hurt your bch wallet i am certain of that.hehe

$ 0.00
3 years ago

Madam, I love it! I never experience such na close with the animals. Hindi ba nakakatakot pero mukha namang safe. I will remember that Calauit planning to go to Coron if we can go home next year. Thank you for sharing!

$ 0.01
3 years ago

indi naman ..msaya nga dun and children will love it.. specially the feeding part..

$ 0.00
3 years ago