Datu Charles: Celebrity tarsier -2

(cont)

Gabor Trail

More important than the building, however, is the 7.4-hectare

forested area owned by the foundation that has been identified

as tarsier habitat. It is situated next to 167 hectares of

timberland, straddling the towns of Corella and Sikatuna.

Within the PTFI property, an area of some 7,300 sq. m. is ringed

with chicken-wire fence. Pizarras said the fence is intended to

keep stray cats out and to contain insects that are the favorite

food of the tarsiers.

The PTFI is now putting together the Gabor Trail, named after

the former tourism secretary, which is projected to be an

hour-long exposure to the wild.

The area covered by the trail is also the habitat of some 50 bird

species, including the serpent eagle, tariktik hornbill,

racket-tailed blue-headed parrot, kingfisher, brahmini kite and

even the rare red-winged crested cuckoo.

It is a cool trek through a dense natural forest that Pizarras said

grew thick after the PTFI acquired the property. Proclamation

1030 also discouraged hunters and kaingineros (slash-and-burn

farmers) from venturing into the area.

Pizarras said there was more to be done. He hoped the municipal

councils of Corella and Sikatuna would pass ordinances

prohibiting anyone to leave unwanted cats in the area near the

conservation site.

``More than hunters and snakes, cats pose the biggest danger

to tarsiers,'' he noted.

Not only do they capture tarsiers for food, cats corner the

creatures simply for fun. For cats, tarsiers make interesting

playthings, Pizarras said.

Pizarras recalled that in 1998, cats killed two mothers and two

baby tarsiers within the conservation site. This forced Pizarras

and his sons, who also work in the center, to kill any cat found

in the area.

People-tarsier culture

Aside from the reassurance that a comprehensive conservation

program was finally on the roll, Camacho viewed the project

from an academic's viewpoint. The president of the SVD-ran

Divine Word College-Tagbilaran said the project has

encouraged researches that unveil many hitherto unknown facts

about the tarsier.

``It is encouraging to see students, from elementary to college,

visiting the center, asking all sorts of questions and indicating

interest in the tarsier,'' Camacho said, noting that site visits by

student groups have grown more frequent.

He added that a cultural anthropologist is studying

people-tarsier relationship to determine if there is room for

people-tarsier culture.

The tarsier has also become the subject of environmental

education classes at the Corella High School where American

volunteer David Jachowski, a wildlife biologist, spends some

time.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources is now

awaiting the results of a research done by Dr. Irene Arboleda,

particularly its conservation plan.

At this stage, Camacho said the PTFI is working for the renewal

of its old memorandum of agreement with the DENR that will

expire this year.

He said that aside from a longer term, preferably not less than

five years, the PTFI would want the DENR to commit to research

and public relations activities.

Another modification is for the DENR to appropriate funds for

its personnel detailed at the center. While the old MOA

provided for the detail of a staff member from the DENR, the

absence of an appropriation has virtually rendered the provision

useless.

Ambiguous policy

Due to this oversight, the PTFI has practically been left on its

own. Worse, the preservation efforts are being mocked by

unclear DENR policies.

In the neighboring town of Loboc, at least three enterprising

traders display tarsiers for a fee to tourists visiting the scenic

Loboc River. The traders insist they have bred tarsiers in

captivity, but Pizarras is unconvinced.

``It took me perhaps 10 years before I successfully bred tarsiers

in captivity,'' he declared. All of his tarsiers have since been set

loose at the conservation site.

Pizarras also stressed that based on his experience, tarsiers only

last up to three months in captivity. Some die after a week.

He suspected that contrary to what the DENR was told, the

traders have, in fact, been replacing the tarsiers that have since

died. With every death, another tarsier is captured to take its

place at the display area.

Pizarras and Camacho said the ambiguous DENR policy

allowing private persons to possess tarsiers pose a threat to the

endangered specie.

Datu Charles was tenderly flown back to Corella with the explicit

promise to his famous foster father that he would be safe in his

home in the wild. The biggest irony to hit the conservation

project would be if Datu Charles, virtually undistinguishable

from other tarsiers except to Pizarras, would be captured and

eventually die at the hands of those who had no contribution

whatsoever to the preservation efforts.

And the biggest tragedy would be that such an act carried the

imprint of the agency that is supposed to protect the

environment with little Datu Charles in it.