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RP safari at Calauit Wildlife Sanctuary
Source: Manila Bulletin
Author: Lynda B. Valencia
Date: 2002-10-11
 
CALAUIT ISLAND, Palawan (PNA) – If you have not gone to a safari in South Africa, you should go and see our local version of it at the Calauit Wildlife Sanctuary.


Over the weekend, the South East Asian Airlines (Seair) invited 16 journalists from Manila to explore Coron Island. One of the projects we visited is the Calauit Wildlife Sanctuary. We were accompanied by Glenn K. Lamela, marketing and sales manager of Seair and Jing Jing Romero of Stratos.



The island, located on the northeast coast of Palawan, is a 3,700hectare game preserve and wildlife sanctuary. This is no ordinary tropical island. The calm and peace of this remote is like a Shangri-La.





About 40 percent of the island is plain, 20 percent moderately undulating and 40 percent mountainous. Elevation of mountain ranges is from 500 to 900 feet. A major portion is less than 200 feet above sea level.





To get to the island, adventure travelers can fly from Manila to Busuanga by chartered plane or a 19-seater Seair. We came from Coral Bay Resort and took a two-and-a-half hour boat ride which passed by bushland dotted with Kirib, cogon grass and fast-growing ipil-ipil.





The history of Calauit dates back to 1976, when fresh from a 3rd World Conference former President Ferdinand Marcos answered a call to save endangered African animals.





By virtue of a Presidential Proclamation No. 1578 issued Aug. 31, 1976, Calauit Island was declared a forest preserve and wildlife sanctuary managed by the private, non-profit Conservation and Resource Management Foundation (CRMF).





In 1977, eight species of African animals from Kenya were brought to Calauit via the ship MV Salvador. This veritable Noah’s Ark held giraffes, zebras, impalas, waterbucks, gazelles, eland, topi and bushbacks.





Froilan Sariego, project manager, said from the original stocks of giraffes, zebras, bushbacks, elands, topis, waterbucks, impalas and gazelles roaming free without natural predators, the animal population has quadrupled over a 10-year period to almost 500 heads.





To make room for the wildlife, some 250 families of islanders were relocated and compensated with land titles on another island.





As well as sighting exotic zebras and giraffess loping over the plains, a trip to the place reveals glimpses of species native to Palawan such as Philippine crocodiles. The smallest of the hoofed animals is the mousedeer. It has the face and body of a mouse, but the hooves, color and digestive system are those of a deer.





Also found in the island is the Calamian deer, a species listed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources as among the ones facing extinction. The bearcat, another endangered species, is bred in captivity.





As of July, the population of African animals are as follows: bushback, 50 heads; eland, 50; giraffe, 28; impala, 159; waterbuck, 147 and zebra, 73. On the other hand, endemic animals as of March, are calamian deer (wild), 1,200 heads; mousedeer, 22; bearcat, four; crocodile, five; porcupine, sea eagle, wild cat, python, all one each and wild pig, 2.





At present only few visitors come to Calauit each year, mainly conservationists, biologists, veterinarians, students and some foreigners. The caretaker said that as much as possible, in order to control tourism and noise pollution, facilities are kept outside the island.





Since its inception, however, the project has been dogged by controversy and intrigue. Now, some of Calauit’s original islanders want it back. Some have teamed up to form the Balik Calauit Movement (BCM) to reclaim their former home. They said they were forced to move to Halsey 40 kilometers away, with little compensation and that far more are spent on animals than are given to them.





But the CRMF said they got ample cash and arable land on Halsey. Some 75 families invaded Calauit recently to camp on the beach. Defying a government order, they have crated a standoff.





Only a decade ago, Calauit’s hills were denuded, its resources depleted and rare species pushed back to the brink of extinction by the original human inhabitants.





But the movement is determined to stay, encouraged by a Philippine Commission on Human Rights (PCHR) report recommending the return of the group. But according to the CRMF, the PCHR, apparently, failed to visit Calauit’s conservation project and did not check BCM’s claim that they cannot plant on Halsey because the soil is acidic.





Since Calauit was declared a wildlife preserve, however, its rolling plains have never looked better. Life has returned to the island.





Denuded areas have blossomed with grass, trees and flowers; indigenous animals have made a remarkable comeback. Calamian deer now numbered more; mousedeer and other species peculiar to Palawan, including the Palawan peacock, bearcat, scaly anteater, and porcupine thrive.





Under a sweep of clear blue sea, giant sea turtles, once ruthlessly hunted for meat and shell, roam free. A CRMF breeding project has released many of them to the sea along with seven species of clams.





The fishermen have been taught how to care for the clams, and were discouraged from dynamite and cyanide fishing which destroys coastal reefs. As a result, the coral reefs surrounding Calauit have shown a 75 percent recovery rate and have become a rich breeding ground for fish, crabs and lobsters.





Over the 26-year period of its existence, Calauit Game Preserve and Wildlife Sanctuary has evolved to become the country’s major conservation showcase. It holds the single distinction as the first successful wildlife translocation experiment in Asia, the second such project in the world.





From purely exotic animal propagation in a free-ranging island habitat, Calauit has now evolved as a repository of important Philippine wildlife.


[ Calauit Game Preserve and Wildlife Sanctuary Wiki ]
 

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