Daks and Gams Wildlife Park, Panglao Island, Bohol

Second stop of our Panglao Island tour, Day 1 in Bohol.

From Hinagdanan Cave, our driver brought us to Daks and Gams Wildlife Park in Tangnan, Panglao Island. It was just a few minutes drive away from where we came from. We paid an entrance fee of Php 15 per person to see the "wildlife" in the "park". Isn't it obvious that I'm a little disappointed?

Pardon my utter disappointment but I was expecting a wildlife park or, somehow, a mini-zoo where we can see wild animals in cages. Instead, what greeted us were a handful of live animals and a lot (and I say a lot!) of stuffed dead animals!


Stuffed dead frogs playing basketball.


Stuffed dead birds.
These are only the stuffed dead animals. I think we saw a dead crocodile under the murky waters of their makeshift crocodile cage! Meanwhile, below are some of the live animals that we saw that day.


DogMonCat: A dog, a monkey, and a cat living in one cage.


Flying lemurs... I guess.


Don't know what bird this is as there wasn't a sign to describe what it was!


Hen and rooster with curly feathers.
There was not a single guide to tour us around the place. Quite a bummer for a place that collects an entrance fee, eh? Fortunately, I can share something about the history of the place. Thanks to a big marker near the stuffed birds that tells the story of how the place began.

So, in 2001, the Diez family acquired the lot where the wildlife park now stands. They were supposed to build a residential abode away from the beaches of Panglao Island. However, while clearing the lot, they discovered living creatures inhabiting the place such as monitor lizards, snakes, rodents, birds, butterflies, turtles, frogs, and many more. This started the hobby that eventually became a lifelong pursuit of creating a habitat park and bird sanctuary in Bohol. Daks and Gams was named after the couple's sons. "Dako" means older son while "Gamay" means younger son.

I can only imagine how beautiful the place was when it started. The place needs a major renovation. Should you visit the place? I think so. Just don't expect too much. Your 15 pesos will make a huge contribution to the animals' feeds. Then again, I hope the management can make some improvements so as not to disappoint future guests.

View more photos of our 2010 Bohol Weekend Trip here.

Daks and Gams Wildlife Park is located at Tangnan, Panglao Island, Bohol. To go there, tourists can rent a tricycle from Tagbilaran City (mainland) or take a cab. It would be best if you visit Daks and Gams Wildlife Park as part of a van rental package. We got ours for Php 2,200 for 6 hours.

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