Republic of 7107 Magazine Issue 1 Volume 3 | Page 67

ENVIRONMENT & CONSERVATION strolling around the garden, which is over five hectares now, it begins to show itself as a work of art. As artists themselves, it is a work of love. And for guests, such as myself, it is a sanctuary for the soul.

I am told there are 3,000 species and varieties of tropical plants. A collection of the couple that just a year ago was their own private enjoyment. Last December, they finally opened the garden and the animal sanctuary to the public to promote preservation of wildlife and an appreciation of these exotic species. The reason for this next step was the realization that the Philippines, especially Bohol, didn’ t have a place such as this. It took them 2 ½ years of landscaping, preparing the island’ s hard rocky upper layer with rich soil for planting the thousands of Bromeliads, Cacti, Orchids, Lilies, while retaining endemic species and fruit trees to encourage the birds that visit the garden. They also began a garden of local and European herbs, leafy salad

vegetables, and other edible plants for their restaurant.

Within the garden is an animal sanctuary and rehabilitation center. I’ m always hesitant to enter zoos, or those establishments acting like zoos because they make me feel helpless and frustrated. But here in this little patch of nirvana, I find the animal’ s homes quite comfy. They are those that Nicolas and Patricia have rescued from abuse or those that have been injured. They have confiscated a bearcat with severed paws and had the animal rehabilitated upon the approval of DENR.

If they were not injured, some of these animals were born and bred in captivity, and releasing them to the wild will be fatal for them who are not used to hunting and caring for themselves. As much as they can, they make the spaces for these animals quite big. The

( Left) Happy Tarsier that was born and raised in captivity;( Below) entrance to the botanical garden, our guide Ronald shows me the cacti garden.

Bohol superstars, the Tarsiers, have a whole room for just the both of them. The monkey family that used to be owned by their staff( which used to be chained in the waist or the neck) enjoys their abode picking sunflower seeds from the caretaker’ s hand. Their names are: Panchito, Conchita, Lolita, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera … one baby monkey just watches sucking his tiny thumb. He’ s still being bottle-fed.

Here there are birds, mostly nocturnal, in separate areas. I find that the Eagle Owl is as curious about me as I am about him. They also have domestic animals like chickens, goats, and cows. But the chickens are of different sub-species and