Donsol and the gentle giants

In the Philippines, forests have become denuded due to logging and mining concessions, while coastal areas have been polluted and destroyed due to navigational accidents and destructive fishing methods. Fisheries resources have been plummeting and recovery has been deemed to be unsuccessful as fisher folks continue to fish endlessly. Fish stocks [...]

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A plea for the dolphins

Last year, we at Dumaguete and its surrounding Municipalities heard about plans to conduct oil explorations in Tañon Strait. For those who have not heard about this important piece of Philippine treasure, this area follows dolphin and whale migration routes. Bais City’s famous dophin and whale watching tours depend on this relatively small [...]

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‘Do you see a lot of colorful birds in the Philippines?’

Social gatherings can be minefields of awkwardness for a Filipino birder because such occasions give rise to queries like “So what do you do on your spare time?” The trapped Filipino birder throws caution to the wind when he opts to respond: “That’s nice of you to ask. I look for forest birds.” To [...]

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How many Philippine Eagles are there in the wild?

As an ordinary bloke with no formal training in biology, I’ve always wanted—perhaps unreasonably—a clear answer to this question.
But it seems that no one knows—or at least, no one is reckless enough to hazard an answer. Why is this? I figured the history of the struggle to conserve the Philippine Eagle has its fair share [...]

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“Philippine Eagle feeding its young.” Oil on canvas. 24” x 36”

A few weeks ago I received an e-mail from wildlife illustrator Oscar Figuracion Jr. saying that he had just finished an oil painting of a Philippine Eagle and was looking for buyers. I came to know Oscar a few years ago when his illustrations had graced a series of NGO-produced species-identification guides meant for DENR [...]

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