The 17-year-old daughter of Manila Bulletin columnist Jerry Liao was bitten by an albino Ruthven Kingsnake while she was stroking the reptile at the Ark Avilon Zoo at the Frontera Verde-Tiendesitas complex in Barangay Ugong, Pasig City.

Though the bite from the snake was not venomous, the Liaos decided to bring the victim to a hospital nearby where she was given an anti-tetanus shot and antibiotic medicine to counter the possible infection from the snakebite. Ark Avilon Zoo is a two-storey Noah’s Ark-inspired structure siting on a 2,000-square-meter lot, which is home to over a dozen of animal species. Entrance to the zoo is about 200-250 pesos per head and is operated by the same company that operates the Avilon Zoo in Rodriguez town in Rizal province.