Negros species vulnerable to extinction

BY: ERROL ABADA GATUMBATO

The status of the Visayan warty pig did not improve through the years. From vulnerable, its threat category has been elevated to critically-endangered because dangers to its existence in the wild are still very high.

On March 3, 2015, the Philippines joined the commemoration of the World Wildlife Day, which was declared during the 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly in December 2013. The secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES) is taking the lead in implementing the World Wildlife Day every 3rd day of March. The Philippines is a signatory to this convention, which is intended for the protection of threatened species of the world. This inter-government treaty also aimed to ensuring that the international trade of wild animals and plants does not threaten the species survival in the wild.

The celebration of the World Wildlife Day is very important to the Philippines, because many of our endemic flora and fauna are already included in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN – World Conservation Union and the Department of Environment Natural Resources. These species are classified as critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable to extinction. The determination of threatened species is based on its population estimate in the wild and the degrees of threats facing its existence, among others.

Negros Island is of major concern when it comes to threatened faunal species. It has numerous endemic species that are already at the brink of extinction in the wild. For instance, the Negros fruit dove (Ptilinopus arcanus), discovered in Mount Kanla-on Natural Park from a single specimen in 1953, is already considered a lost species. It has never been recorded elsewhere after it was known to exist. The Birdlife International recommends thorough field survey of the Negros fruit dove in MKNP and other sites of Negros and Panay to determine if the species is still extant.

Another crucial species known only to occur in Negros, Panay, and Guimaras is the Rufous-headed hornbill

This pair of Rufous-headed hornbill is undergoing captive breeding at the Mariit Wildlife Conservation Park in Iloilo province. Successfully bred species shall be programmed for reintroduction in vacant habitats. This is a joint initiative of PBCFI, West Visayas State University, and DENR. PBCFI photo*

(Rhabdotorrhinus waldeni), also known as Writhed-billed hornbill and Walden’s hornbill, which is suspected to be functionally extinct in the wild in Negros, according to IUCN, since it has never been recorded in the island for more than 10 years. However, in the survey conducted by the Philippines Biodiversity Conservation Foundation Inc. last year, the species was rediscovered in Northern Negros Natural Park. The species remains as critically endangered in terms of its threat category.

The status of the Visayan warty pig (Suss cebifrons) did not improve through the years. From vulnerable, its threat category has been elevated to critically-endangered because dangers to its existence in the wild are still very high. The population of this species is now limited in Negros, Panay, and possibly in Ticao Island. It is already extinct in its former range in Cebu, Guimaras, and Masbate. The late William Oliver, a British biologist who devoted more than two decades of his life in conserving the Philippines’ endemic wildlife, described the Visayan warty pig as the most threatened species of pig in the whole world.

The Negros Naked-backed fruit bat or Philippine Bare-backed fruit bat (Dobsonia chapmani) was formerly declared extinct because it has never been recorded since 1964. This species was formerly known to occur only in Negros until it was discovered in Cebu in 2001 and was later on rediscovered in southern Negros Occidental in 2003. The species remains classified as critically endangered because its survival is still bleak, especially since the lowland forests in Negros, where this fruit bat is known to occur, are now very limited.

The Northern Negros Natural Park is host to numerous endemic species.

Several other endemic species found in Negros are already susceptible to extinction, because their population in the wild keeps on decreasing through the years, and they are not yet fully secured in the remaining habitats where they are currently surviving. The Negros bleeding-heart pigeon (Gallicolumba keayi), a lowland specialist bird, is another declared critically endangered species of Negros. It was earlier thought to be found only in Negros until its discovery in Panay in 1997. The survival of the Negros bleeding-heart requires the protection of the remaining lowland forests in Negros and Panay, and the rehabilitation of denuded areas to ensure that this colourful bird shall remain in the wild. Both Negros and Panay have already lost much of their lowland forests. Another contributing factor to the declining population of the Negros bleeding-heart is hunting, especially so that this particular bird is a ground-dwelling species. It is being hunted for food and as household pet.

The IUCN and the DENR have further declared numerous endemic species found in Negros as endangered species, which is the second highest level of threat assigned to a particular species that is not critically endangered but its survival in the wild is unlikely if the causal factors continue to exist. One of this species is the charismatic and beautiful Visayan spotter deer (Rusa alfredi), or Philippines spotted deer, that is only surviving in Negros and Panay, since it is already extinct in Cebu, Guimaras, and Masbate where the species was known to exist before. Massive hunting and habitat destruction are the two major causes why the Visayan spotted deer remains threatened to date.

Aside from critically endangered Negros naked-back fruit bat, another fruit bat found in Negros has also been declared as endangered species. The Philippine tube-nosed fruit bat (Nyctimene rabori), that can be found in Cebu and Sibuyan Island, too, is suspected to have less than 2,500 mature individuals in the wild, and threats to its existence, particularly deforestation and hunting, are still prevalent.

It is also interesting to note that Negros and Panay shared another species that could not be found elsewhere and it is a species of frog called the Negros forest frog. Although the population of this species in Panay has never been assessed in recent times, the Negros forest frog has been classified as endangered species, because threat to its survival is also high. The species has been known to occur in MKNP and in the forest patches in southern Negros Occidental.

Another kind of hornbill has been included in the list of threatened species, because its population in the wild is similarly declining. The Visayan tarictic hornbill (Penelopides panini) is a Philippine endemic species that is known to occur in Negros, Panay, Guimaras, Masbate, and Ticao. In the 19th century, the Visayan tarictic hornbill has been reported to be widespread and common in areas where they have been recorded.

The Negros striped-babbler (Stachyris nigrorum), a species known to exist only in Mounts Talinis and Kanlaon in Negros, is another threatened species classified as endangered, although there was another report of its sighting in Mantikil, Siaton town in Negros Oriental. Just like other species of birds, the Negros striped-babbler requires immediate protection on its remaining natural habitats.

These are only some of the important species that may soon be declared extinct, once threats to their existence, especially deforestation and hunting, shall not be totally curtailed. It is therefore very important that efforts on habitat protection and restoration shall be further strengthened in Negros and elsewhere where these species are known to survive. EAG.