World Wildlife Day March 3, 2025 Theme: "Wildlife Conservation Finance: Investing in People and Planet"

World Wildlife Day

"Wildlife Conservation Finance: 

Investing in People and Planet"

Dr Abe V Rotor

The theme for World Wildlife Day 2025 is "Wildlife Conservation Finance: Investing in People and Planet". The theme highlights the need to invest in wildlife conservation to protect biodiversity and ensure a sustainable future.

World Wildlife Day is celebrated every year on March 3 to recognize the unique roles and contributions of wildlife to people and the planet. It coincides with the signing of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1973.

Part 1 - Twenty Wildlife animals that rebounded 

from the brink of extinction

"An endangered species is a type of organism that is threatened by extinction. Species become endangered for two main reasons: loss of habitat and loss of genetic variation." - United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

In less than a human lifetime, dozens of wildlife species have rebounded from the brink of extinction - and are establishing their territory on the countryside and in suburbs.

Thanks to growing consciousness in wildlife protection and ecological conservation worldwide, despite massive and wanton destruction of wildlife habitats, and unabated pollution in air, water and land that threaten these and other species.

Here are twenty (20) animals that have made a remarkable comeback.

1. Wild Pig (baboy ramo, alingo Ilk, PHOTO is one of the most popular game animals; it is a pest of nearby farms, feeding on root crops and succulents, Our native pigs are the progeny of a cross indigenous and wild genes.)

2. Kiyoaw or Oriole (a family of 4 to 6 members frequent our backyard trees, just outside the La Mesa Reservoir watershed) PHOTO

3. Fireflies (They can be observed on empty lots adjacent to the Sacred Heart seminary, Novaliches QC

4. Pipit (popularized ina song of the same title, local counterpart of the hummingbird)

5. Tuka'k Ba-ug (bellied frog, long thought to have succumbed to pesticides. (See separate article in this blog) PHOTO left

6. Skink or alibut Ilk (Twice in ten years I spotted this shiny ground lizard at home near the La Mesa watershed.) PHOTO right

7. Gecko Lizard (Tuko or tekka Ilk., hunted for its alleged aphrodisiac value.

8. Atlas moth (biggest of all insects by wing span, threatened by the gradual disappearance of native santol being replaced by the Bangkok variety)

9. Black Bear (Prowler in the kitchen and on garbage when hungry)

10. Canada Goose (Remember Fly Away Home ?)

11. Alligator (relative of the crocodile, we don't have alligators, instead crocodiles - they are coming back, too)

12. Gray Wolf (found in wastelands and open areas)

13. Deer (rebounded in no-hunting forests and grasslands)

14. Wild Turkey (particularly in the US and Canada)

15. Cougar (relative of the wolf in the US)

16. Beaver (natural dam build

er of forest streams in temperate countries.  (I saw a beaver's nest and dam in Manitoba in 1976, similar to this in photo from the Internet)

17. Raccoon (common in North America)

18.  Reticulated python or sawa (a one-meter baby sawa was ensconced in a burnay or earthen jar.)

19. Rhinoceros beetle (appears like Triceratops, with three horns, apparently the male; the female has shorter horns)

20. Wildcat (In China the civet cat, counterpart of our musang, is invading homes. One reason for its comeback is that it eats fresh coffee bean and defecate the seed which is then ground into a special blend that commands a lucrative price.) 

The discovery of the Coelacanth (Latimeria) in the deep waters of Madagascar thought to have been extinct millions of years ago is perhaps the most dramatic and classical example of a "living fossil." 

The dugong is a marine mammal. It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest modern relative, Steller's sea cow, was hunted to extinction in the 18th century. Wikipedia

TRIVIA

• There are only two northern white rhinos left in the world, both female. Yet there is still hope that we can preserve their lineage. 
• The rarest animal in the world is the vaquita (Phocoena sinus). It is a kind of critically endangered porpoise that only lives in the furthest north-western corner of the Gulf of California in Mexico. There are only 18 left in the world. (Internet

                                           Part 2 

 The Return of Balloon Frog Symbolizes Nature's Victory

But Nature’s victory does not mean man’s defeat; rather it humbles man to be obedient to Nature’s laws and rules which is the key to his very own survival, and preservation of the living world as a whole. 

 

 

Views of the Balloon Frog - Uperodon globulosus (U. systoma?)

The first time I saw tukak bat’og was when I was a young farmhand. Its name is familiar because bat’og, battog or battobattog, in Ilocano means pot bellied. At that time anyone who exhibited a bulging waistline was associated with this amphibian. But there were very few of this kind then. The war had just ended and people had to work hard.

Hardship tightens the belt automatically, but peacetime and the Good Life opens a new war - the “battle of the bulge.” Today two out of five Americans are obese and Europeans are not far behind. Asians are following the same trend, as more and more people have changed to the Western lifestyle that accompanies overweight condition, whether one is male or female.

But actually Bat’og is all air. It’s like balloon short of taking off. But once it wedges itself in its tight abode not even bird or snake can dislodge it. Not only that. It feigns dead and its attacker would simply walk away to find a live and kicking prey.

Nature’s sweet lies are tools of survival. When it faces danger Bat’og engulfs air and becomes pressurized and distended, reducing the size of its head and appendages to appear like mere rudiments. And with its coloration that blends with the surroundings, and its body spots becoming monstrous eyes, who would dare to attack this master of camouflage.

Not enough to drive away its foe, Bat’og uses another strategy by producing deep booming sounds coming from its hollow body as resonator. I remember the story of Monico and the Giant by Camilo Osias when I was in the grades. The cruel giant got scared and rushed out of his dark hiding when Monico boomed like Bat’og . Actually it was the unique design of the cave’s chamber that created the special sound effect and ventriloquism. The vaults of old churches were similarly designed this way so that the faithful can clearly hear the sermon.

The exhausted Bat’og deflates and returns to its chores, feeding, roaming around and calling for mate – and rain, so old folks say. Well, frogs become noisy when it rains. Biologically, egg laying is induced by rain. Eggs are fertilized in water and hatched into tadpoles that live in water until they become frogs. Bat’og has relatives that live in trees and their tadpoles inhabit trapped water in the axils of bromeliads, bananas and palms. Or it could be a pool inside the hollow of a tree.

After I left the farm for my studies in Manila, I never saw any Tukak Bat’og again. Only a trace of that childhood memory was left of this enigmatic creature.

Then one day, in my disbelief Bat’og resurrected! For a long time it has long been in the requiem list of species, ironically even before it was accorded scientific details of its existence. Well, there are living things that may not even reach the first rung of the research ladder, either they are insignificant or new to science. Who would take a look at Bat’og?

I believe a lot of people now do. People have become environment-conscious after the publication of Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, the emergence of Greenpeace movement, and birth of "heroes for the environment". Who is not aware now of global warming, especially after viewing Al Gore's documentary film, An Inconvenient Truth? Who have not experienced calamities brought about by our changing climate? 

What changed the thinking of the world - a revolution in our concept of survival - is that all livings are interconnected and that the world is one systemic order, that the survival of one spells the survival of all creatures and the preservation of the integrity of the biosphere and therefore, of Planet Earth, and that there is no living thing that is too small to be insignificant or useless.

Of all places I found Bat’og one early morning in my residence in Quezon City. I would say it instead found me. There in my backyard, ensconced in a gaping crack in the soil covered with a thick layer of dead leaves lay my long lost friend - very much alive.

Hello! And it looked at me motionless with steady eyes. It was aestivating, a state of torpor, which is a biological phenomenon for survival in dry and hot summer, the counterpart of hibernation when organisms sleep in winter and wait for the coming of spring. My friend was waiting nature's clock to signal the Habagat to bring rain from across the Pacific come June to September, a condition necessary for its amphibious life.

Slowly I lifted my friend and cradled it of sort on my palm. And we rolled time back seventy years ago. And before any question was asked, it was already answered. It is like that when two old friends meet after a long time. I remember when journalist Stanley found the great explorer Dr. David Livingstone in the heart of Africa in the 19th century, Stanley simply greeted, "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" and the old man lifted his hat and gave Stanley a firm handshake. This became one of the most famous meetings in the world.

You see an event earns a place in history, or in the heart, when it permeates into the primordial reason of existence, which is Reverence of Life.

Reverence – this is the principal bond between man and nature. It is more than friendship. It is the also the bonds of the trilogies of human society – equality, fraternity and liberty. It is the bridge of all relationships in the complex web and pyramid of life. It towers over equations and formulas in science. It links earth and heaven, in fact the whole universe – and finally, the bridge of understanding between creature and Creator.

Bat’og is back. How easy it is to understand a creature however small it is, if it is your friend. Yet how difficult it is to define the role of a friend. The fox in Antoine de Saint-Exupery’ novel, The Little Prince, warned the little prince, “If you tame me you are responsible to me.” The little prince simply touched the wild beast.

Taming is the ultimate submission to humility. And the greater a person who humbles himself, the truer a friend he is.

How do we relate this principle to our being the only rational creature? The dominant species over millions of species? The God-anointed guardian of the Earth? The custodian of creation?

Allow me to have some time with my long lost friend. Either one of us is the Prodigal Son, but that does not matter now. Let me join Darwin and Linnaeus and Villadolid et al.

That was a long time ago by the pond that had dried in summer. As a kid on the farm I have known the ways of my friend. Bat’og would stake its prey - termites, ants, beetles and other insects. Like all frogs – and toads – the adults and tadpoles are important in controlling pests and diseases.

One of its relatives belonging to genus Kaloula was found to subsist mainly on hoppers and beetles that destroy rice, including leafhoppers that transmit tungro, a viral disease of rice that may lead to total crop failure. Such insectivorous habit though is universal to amphibians, reptiles, birds and other organisms. If only we can protect these Nature’s biological agents we would not be using chemicals on the farm and home, chemicals that pollute the environment and destroy wildlife.

Bat'og and its kind protect man from hunger and disease. They are an important link in the food chain. No pond or ricefield or forest or grassland is without frogs. There would be no herons and snakes and hawks and eagles. No biological laboratory is without the frog as a blue print of human anatomy. And The Frog and the Princess would certainly vanish from the imagination of children - if ever the fairytale was written at all.

Bat’og is a survivor of chemical genocide. It is the timely age of enlightenment of people returning to natural food and the spread of environmental consciousness on all walks of life and ages that has come to its rescue in the last minute. So with many threatened species.

Who does not rejoice at finding again native kuhol, martiniko, ulang and gurami in the rice field? Oriole, pandangera, tarat and pipit in the trees? Tarsier, mouse deer and pangolin in the wild? And the return of ipil-ipil, kamagong and narra in the forest? And of course, Haribon the symbol of Philippine wildlife and biodiversity.

It is indeed a challenge for us to practice being the Good Shepherd, but this time it is not only a lost lamb that we have to save, it’s the whole flock.

Tukak Bat’og symbolizes the victory of Nature. But Nature’s victory does not mean man’s defeat; rather it is man’s humility and obedience to Nature’s laws and rules and therefore, the restoration of order on Planet Earth - our only spaceship on which we journey into the vastness of the universe and the unknown. ~

Part 3 - The Blackbird is back, so with other

threatened animals 

Blackbird (Martines), Drynaria fern and towering acacia tree make
 an ecological sanctuary, together with a host of other organisms 
that depend on them. Tagudin, Ilocos Sur.

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In less than a human lifetime, dozens of wildlife species have rebounded from the brink of extinction - and are establishing their territory in suburbs.  Here are twenty (20) animals that have made a remarkable comeback.

1. Kiyoaw or Oriole (a family of 4 to 6 members frequent our backyard trees, just outside the La Mesa Reservoir watershed)
2. Reticulated python or sawa (a one-meter baby sawa was ensconced in a burnay or earthen pot.) 
3. Fireflies (They can be observed on empty lots adjacent to the Sacred Heart seminary, Novaliches QC
4. Pipit (popularized ina song of the same title, local counterpart of the huming bird)
5. Tuka'k Ba-ung (bellied frog, long thought to have succumbed to pesticides.  See separate article in this blog) 
6. Skink or alibut Ilk (Twice in ten years I spotted this shiny ground lizard at home near the La Mesa watershed.
7. Gecko Lizard (Tuko or tekka Ilk., hunted for its alleged aphrodisiac value)
8. Atlas moth (biggest of all insects by wing span, threatened by the gradual disappearance of native santol being replaced by the Bangkok variety)
9. Black Bear (Prowler in the kitchen and on garbage when hungry)  
10. Canada Goose (Remember Fly Away Home ?)
11. Alligator (relative of the crocodile, we don't have alligators, instead crocodiles - they are coming back, too)
12. Gray Wolf (found in wastelands and open areas)
13. Deer (rebounded in no-hunting forests and grasslands) 
14. Wild Turkey (particularly in the US and Canada)  
15. Cougar (relative of the wolf in the US)
16. Beaver (natural dam builder of forest streams in temperate countries) 
17. Raccoon (common in North America)
18. Wild Pig (baboy ramo, alingo Ilk, one of the most popular game animals; it is a pest of nearby farms, feeding on root crops and succulents, Our native pigs are the progeny of a cross indigenous and wild genes.)
19. Rhinoceros beetle (appears like Triceratops, with three horns, apparently the male; the female has shorter horns)
20. Wildcat (In China the civet cat, counterpart of our musang, is invading homes.  One reason for its comeback is that it eats fresh coffee bean and defecate the seed which is then ground into a special blend that commands a lucrative price. 

Garden Skink; Wild Pig (baboy ramo)

This is one for the biologist and ecologist. I say, it's one for the Book of Guinness record.

Up high in a dozen centuries old acacia trees, reaching up to 10 storeys high, their boughs and branches clothed with epiphytic ferns, I found the long lost blackbirds, we callmartines in Ilocano.

I was then in the grade school in San Vicente (Ilocos Sur) when I saw the last martines bird. But here on a Black Friday on top of these towering trees, there is the lost bird, in fact several of them in pairs and families. It is like the Coelacanth, a primitive fish thought to have long been extinct, suddenly rising from the depth of the craggy Madagascar sea. Its fossil in rock tells us it is 40 million years old. And here it is - alive and has not changed! The fossil fish is alive! So with the Martines!

The blackbirds have made the towering acacia trees their home and natural habitat, building their nests on the Drynaria fern. The fern grows on the branches, reaching the peak of its growth during the rainy season when the host tree sheds its leaves, in effect allowing sunlight to nurture the fern.

The fern has dimorphic leaves. The primary ones are long and shaped like stag horn and bear sori or spore sacs, while the other kind is shaped and arranged like shingles, enclosing the fern's rhizome. Like all ferns, Drynaria undergoes alternation of generations - the spore-forming phase and gamete-forming phase. It is the sporophytic or asexual generation that the fern plant is familiar to us. It is typically made of roots, stems and leaves - but never flowers and fruits. It is for this that ferns are classified separately from seed-forming and flowering plants. They belong to Division Pterophyta.

In the dry season, the fern becomes dormant, appearing dry and lifeless from the outside, but shielded by the shingles the fleshy rhizome waits for the rain and sunlight - and the shedding of the host tree. Then almost at an instant the fern springs to life, carpeting entire boughs and branches.

Now it's the tree's turn. In summer, while the fern is dormant, it builds a new crown, and together with those of the adjoining trees form a huge canopy that makes a perfect shade. This could be one reason the friars in the 15th century thought of introducing the acacia (Samanea saman) from Mexico to be planted around churches and convents.

Not only that the acacia is the biggest legume in the world; it is self-fertilizing and self supporting, and sharing its resources to countless organisms from earthworm to humans. How is this possible?

The acacia harbors in its roots symbionts - Rhizobium bacteria that convert the element Nitrogen (N) into Nitrate (NO3). Only then can N that comprises 78 percent of the air we breathe can be used by plants to manufacture food by photosynthesis.

And with the deciduous character of the tree, dead leaves form a litter on the ground that makes a good mulch and later becomes compost - a natural fertilizer for the tree, surrounding plants, microorganisms and animals. Then as the pods of the tree ripen and drop to the ground, animals like goats come around to feed on them and in effect enrich the ground. The tree's efficient physiology and symbiotic potential with other organisms make it not only one of the most self-reliant trees in the world, but a miniature ecosystem in itself.

We see today very old acacia trees in these places, just like those around the old St Agustine church in Tagudin built in the 16th century where I found the blackbirds among the Drynaria ferns at their tops. Tagudin is the southernmost town of Ilocos Sur, some 330  kilometers north of Manila - a good five-hour drive. It continues to attract northbound tourists to have a stopover and see this spectacle, among other attractions of this old town, such as its native handicrafts, pristine seashore and progressive upland agriculture.

Going back to the blackbirds, why do we give much importance to them? Well, the blackbirds protect both tree and fern from insects and other pests, and fertilize them with their droppings. They too, are gleaners and help keep the environment clean. Unlike the house sparrow, ground fowls and the crow, they are not nuisance to the place; their presence is barely felt except for their occasional calls which sound quite sonorous but nonetheless pleasant, and their display during flight of a queer pair of white spots on their wings. I developed the liking to watch them for hours - their gentle movement, familial ways, although they do not as gregarious as pigeons, and their glossy black bodies distinct from the surrounding and against the sky. They make a good specimen for bird watching and photography.

Beyond the aesthetics about the bird, I learned from my good friend Dr. Anselmo Set Cabigan, a fellow biologist and science professor, that the martines was introduced from Guam on instruction of a Spanish Governor General to control locust infestation in the Philippines. This is the first case of applying the principle of biological control in the Philippines - and perhaps elsewhere - which was then too advance in its time. Today, biological control is practiced worldwide as part of Integrated Pest Management (IPM), a holistic approach in dealing with all kinds of pests which include pathogens.

Locust (Locusta migratoria manilensis) is a scourge to agriculture in many countries since prehistoric times. I have witnessed how a swarm of locust devour complete fields of rice and corn, and other crops overnight. During swarming the sky darkens as sheer numbers of these flying insects block the sky. And as they ride on the wind they produce a deafening hissing sound that adds terror to farmers and inhabitants.

And why was the matines bird the chosen nemesis of the locust? It clearly shows the efficiency of this predator. Actually predation is most effective when the locust is still in its non-migratory phase, specifically during the congegans - more so when it is in the solitaria phase. The bird immediately checks the pest before it develops into enormous population - and reach its swarming stage.

I believe that the triad formed by the acacia tree, Drynaria fern and the blackbirds is the beginning of an emerging ecosystem where wildlife and human settlement meet in cooperation and harmony. It is a zone where Nature re-builds spent environments and creates intermediate types, in which the role of man is basically to let nature's laws and rules to prevail. For example, doves and pigeons in public squares and plazas in many parts of the world are learning to trust people, and many people are just too happy to share their homes and other resources with them. They are planting trees and setting up more and wider parks for the wildlife.

For one, Japan now requires the greening of rooftops of buildings through gardening dubbed aeroponics, and by putting up ecological sanctuaries to attract wildlife to settle in them. In Europe on the other hand, miles and miles of hedges have evolved into a unique ecosystem, that one can no longer differentiate a well-established hedge from a natural vegetation. Also in Europe, woodlands which are actually broad strips that serve as boundaries of fields and pastures, are gaining through time higher biodiversity levels, and moving towards dynamic stability, called in ecology as homeostasis.

The Philippines is not behind. We have multi-storey orchards in Cavite, Batangas and Laguna that simulate the structure of a tropical rain forest long before the term ecology was coined. And many basins of ricefields and sumps of irrigation systems have become natural ponds.

The 38th parallel dividing the whole length of warring North Korea and South Korea – a strip of no man’s land, twenty kilometers at its widest – has developed, since the armistice in 1958, into a natural wildlife sanctuary. Today it has a very high level of biodiversity and distinct from any reservation on either side of this highly restricted boundary.

These neo-ecological zones are sprouting from backyards, parks, submerged coastlines, denuded mountains, and the like. Even contiguous idle lots – and abandoned fishponds, farms and settlements - are slowly but steadily becoming bastions of wildlife.

Truly, the case of the centuries old acacia trees where the Drynaria and the martinesbirds, and man living with them in peace and in harmony - is a manifestation of Nature's triumph. It is triumph to us and the living world. ~

Grotesque looking acacia tree clothed with Drynaria fern
towers over church and convent in Tagudin, Ilocos Sur.

Photographs taken with an SLR Digital Camera with 300 mm telephoto lens

Part 4 -   Meet 10 Rare Organisms 

A rare species is such species that is very uncommon, scarce in number, and frequently encountered. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) uses this term to relate to such species which are seen in isolated geographical locations. 

Lesson: Can you identify these organisms?   Where can you find them? Describe their life history, habitat and interrelationship with humans and other organisms. What are their peculiar characteristics? Include other organisms under this category and include them in your lesson in biology. 
 

Porcupine - Erethizon dorsatum ("quill pig") ensconced in the hollow of a log.

Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two families of animals: the Old World porcupines of the family Hystricidae, and the New World porcupines of the family Erethizontidae.  

Specimen found in Malabon Zoo, Rizal

Albino carabao - Bubalus bubalis carabanesis

Carabaos are a genetically distinct population of swamp-type water buffaloes from the Philippines. They descended from domesticated swamp buffalo populations from Taiwan that were introduced to the Philippines in the Neolithic via the Austronesian expansion. Carabao are generally light grey to slate-grey.  Similar white carabaos may be encountered in the field, but are seldom used as working animals because of their  sensitivity to extreme heat and rigors due to their lack of melanin pigment.  This is the same case with albino or white elephants.  Albino animals are revered by indigenous societies and are favored as pets. 

Blue Starfish - Linckia laevigata (sometimes called the "blue Linckia" 

or blue star)

An inhabitant of coral reefs and sea grass beds, this species is relatively common and is typically found in sparse density throughout its range. Blue stars live in subtidal, or sometimes intertidal zone, on fine (sand) or hard substrata and move relatively slow at a mean locomotion rate of 8.1 cm per minute.  Specimen found at Calatagan, Batangas seashore.

Giant earthworm - Lumbricus terrestris

Lumbricus terrestris is a large, reddish worm species thought to be native to Western Europe, now widely distributed around the world.  It eats mainly dead leaves on the soil floor and top-horizon mineral soil. Specimen found on the grounds of the University of Santo Tomas, Manila.

Chinese softshell turtle - Pelodiscus sinensis

The Softshell turtle is listed under threatened Philippine fauna, and under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES). The Chinese softshell turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis) is a species of softshell turtle that is native to mainland China and Taiwan. Specimens found at the lake of the Parks and Wildlife Center, QC.

Globular or Balloon Frog (Tukak Bat'og Ilk which means fat bellied)

Uperodon systoma is a small genus of microhylid frogs from South Asia. Their sister taxon is Ramanella of Class Amphibia, Order Anura. The common name of these frogs is globular frogs or balloon frogs in reference to their stout appearance. These medium-sized (maximum snout–vent length 64–76 mm (2.5–3 in) burrowing frogs eat ants and termites. This species is widespread in South Asia, Little is known about the population status of this species. This is a completely fossorial species that buries itself in loose, moist soil.  Specimen found at author's
city residence, Lagro Subd., QC

Looper or geometrid caterpillar

Looper or geometrid caterpillar moves by loop-and-stretch, and stands like a cobra on reaching a dead end. When threatened, it feigns dead and mimics its surroundings. Geometrids belong to Order Lepidoptera, Family Geometridae. (from Greek geo 'the earth' and metron 'measure' — refers to the larvae, or inchworms, which appear to "measure the earth" as they move in a looping fashion.  Specimen found at author's city residence, Lagro Subd., QC

Pagoda Bagworm (Cryotothelea heckmeyeri). 

It is the larva of a moth belonging to Order Lepidoptera, Family Psychidae. The caterpillar remains ensconced in its bag in its entire larval stage which takes five moultings before it becomes into a cocoon without leaving its bag. The male soon emerges as a winged moth, then into adult. The male moth leaves the bag to find a mate, while the female moth is wingless and has to remain in the bag, receives a mate, deposits her fertilized eggs inside, then falls off to the ground or waiting prey. The bag grows by accretion, that is, the larva adds pieces of leaves on to the bag. Specimen found at Araneta University, now De la Salle University Malabon, Rizal

 

Another species of bagworm (Crypthothela fuscescens), builds its bag with dried twig of the uniform sizes. The spent bag simply remains hanging in the plant. Lower photo shows an exposed larvae purposely for study.  Specimen found on Angels Hill, Tagaytay Ridge, Batangas

 

Giant African snail (Achatina fulica) 

Giant African snail (Achatina fulica) is the biggest land snail in the Philippines, introduced by the Japanese during WWII, either as supplemental food or biological agent of warfare. This mollusk has developed into a pest of garden and orchard crops. Can you locate the pair of eyes? You may use a magnifying glass over these photos, or you may zoom in these photos on your computer. Specimen found at author's city residence, Lagro Subd., QC

References: Wikipedia

Living with Nature in Our Times, AVRotor UST
Living with Folk Wisdom, AV Rotor UST

*Lesson on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School on Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio 738 KHz DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday 

Part 5 - Ecology's Dilemma Today

- "All in the Name of Progress"

 Pristine environment such as the Loboc River in Bohol is becoming rare

• It looks like man has been able to trace the source of the water that comes from the proverbial Pierian Spring, the secret of health and long life. For years it was believed that the spring lies up in Shangrila atop the Himalayas, or according to the Greeks on Mt. Olympus, or the Egyptians in the Pyramids. One does not have to go there now. 

Even today the average life span of man is mid 70. It will not be a surprise if one out of a hundred individuals will be a centenarian. One report claims that the life span of man can be increased up to 140 years by the middle of the millennium. How long did Moses live?

• But cancer is on the rise, so with AIDS, and the spread of genetically linked defects and illness. Work-related and stress-related deaths will likewise increase with heart and severe depression as the leading diseases, followed by the traditional diseases like respiratory and diarrheal diseases. Already there are 15 million people who have died of AIDS and 40 millions more who are living with HIV, the viral infection. A pandemic potential with up to 1 billion people to become affected with HIV has started appearing on some crystal balls and this is not impossible if it hits populous Asia.

                                         Street children rehabilitation center. Bahay ni Kuya, Cubao QC

• Cloning, the most controversial discovery in biology and medicine, will continue to steal the limelight in this millennium, stirring conscience, ethics and religion. It is now sensed as the biggest threat to human society, and if Frankenstein is back and some people regard him as a hero instead of a villain, we can only imagine the imminent destruction our society faces - the emergence of sub- and ultra- human beings. On the other hand, there are those who look at cloning as an important tool of medicine to enable doctors to save lives and increase life expectancy. They also believe that cloning in situ (on site) will do away with tedious and unreliable organ transplants.

• Gene therapy is in, medicinal healing is out. It means diagnosing the potential disease before it strikes by knowing its source. Actually diseases are triggered by specific genes. Reading the gene map of an individual, the doctor can “cure” the disease right at it genetic source. We call this gene therapy, the newest field in medical science. But the altered gene will be passed on to the next generation. Playing God, isn’t? Definitely it is, and it is possible to use this technology not only for the sake of treatment but for programmed genetic alteration. Another Frankenstein in the offing? But scientists are saying gene therapy can be a tool in removing permanently the genes that cause cancer, AIDS, and genetically linked diseases like diabetes, Down’s Syndrome, and probably alcoholism.

• We are in an age of test tube babies. There are now 100,000 test tube babies in the US alone since 1978, the arrival of Louise Brown, the world’s first test tube baby. The industry has just started booming with sperm and ova banks established and linked with the Internet and other commodity channels. Not only childless couples can have children, but even a sixty year old woman can - through what is coined as menopausal childbirth technology. Surrogate mothers for hire, anyone?

• If diseases can be predicted and successfully treated, and life can be prolonged – these have indeed grave consequences to population increase. Already there are 7.7 billion people inhabiting the earth today, and we are increasing at the rate of more than 80 million a year. After 2150 we shall have reached 13 billion, the estimated maximum capacity our planet can support. Is Malthus right after all? It looks like the ghost of this English political economist and priest is back to warn us, this time more urgent than his 1789 prediction that our population would grow until it reaches the limits of our food supply.

• Our Earth is getting warmer, and this is not any kind of comfort but destruction. We have experienced seven of the ten warmest years in the past decade and we are heading toward another Noah’s episode. Low lying areas where the rich farmlands and many big cities virtually squat will be flooded. Heat is trapped by the carbon that we generate from our cars and industries creating a “greenhouse effect.” As the world’s temperature increases, the polar ice will melt, more rains and climatic disturbances will ensue. Climate scientists have predicted that by year 2100 the earth’s temperature will go up from 1 to 3.5 degrees centigrade. But wait, the worst is yet to come. Global warming will plunge us ultimately – towards the middle of the millennium – into another ice age! There will be a buildup of ice at the polar regions as the ocean currents fail to carry warm water to the poles and back.

• The trend of lifestyle will be toward the simple and natural, even in the midst of high tech living. More and more people will go for natural food and natural medicine as they become conscious of their health. The media and the information highway will provide more people access to entertainment and information. Remote management and distance learning will greatly influence business and education. But people will still seek greener pastures in cities and in foreign lands.

• “Save the earth!” has yet to be a denominator of cooperation and peace among nations. The failure of the Earth Summit some years ago at Rio de Janairo, and the first summit before in Stockholm, has produced valuable lessons leaders must learn. There is only one ship in which all of us are riding. Let us all save our ship.

All in the name of Progress

It is all in the name of progress that nations are pursuing. The West insists of pushing the frontiers of technology into the so-called “third wave.” The East, the Asian Pacific region, insists on industrialization in order to catch up with the progress of the West, while the Middle East has yet to undergo a major socio-cultural and political transformation while aiming at lofty economic goals.

Progress, it is generally believed, is the aim of globalization, and globalization is building of a world village. Isn’t this the key to peace and cooperation? Sounds familiar to scholars and leaders.

Maybe, but the greatest challenge lies in the preservation of a healthy Mother Earth, a common denominator of concern irrespective of political, ideological and religious boundaries. It is the saving of the environment that will be the biggest challenge to this and the coming generations.

Poor Rating of Earth Summit

                                       Idyllic rural life.  People tend to go and live in the city. Painting by the author. 

The recent Copenhagen Earth Summit renewed basically the agenda of previous summits. But demonstrators expressed pessimism over the sincerity of world leaders on environmental issues. 

They had in mind what happened to the promises made by leaders from 178 nations who gathered in the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro some years ago. These are the four areas of accord: biodiversity, climate, deforestation, and population.

On the biodiversity accord signed by 161 countries (except the US), ecosystems continue to be assaulted and fragmented. On arresting global warming as a result of emissions from industries and vehicles, developing countries on the path of industrialization have exacerbated the problem. Deforestation virtually knows no limits and bounds as long as there is wilderness to conquer. Every year forests are lost the size of Nepal. Asia has lost 95 percent of its woodlands.

There are now 7.7 billion people on earth. Every year about 85 million people are added. This is slightly bigger than the Philippines’ total population. Although birth rates are going down in the West as well as in the NICS, there is a boom in babies in rural Asia, Latin America and Africa.

What is the score of the Earth Summit? Rhetorics and promises can not be relied upon. It is in this area that globalization should be reviewed. Globalization should be defined in economic, cultural and environmental terms. This triad approach has yet to be addressed to all members of the global village. And there should be a new world governance, more credible than the UN, to undertake this gargantuan task.

“Hundreds of millions of people will starve to death,” warned Paul Ehrlich in his book, The Population Bomb. This is an echo of the Malthusian Theory raised 250 years ago. This means farmers, in spite of biotechnology, can not keep up indefinitely with increasing food demands. Yet there is a great disparity in food distribution. While the average adult needs 2200 calories a day, an American consumes 3603 as compared to the intake of a Kenyan which is only 1991 calories.

Degradation of the land, the breaking up of ecosystems, are resulting to modern day exodus of ecomigrants who cross borders, invade cities and build marginal communities, threaten security of nations, and creates other socio-economic problems. Desertification, soil erosion, overuse of farms drive multitudes to search for greener pasture, many in the guise of overseas workers, settlers, refugees.

The birth of megacities is a human phenomenon in modern times. The world’s cities are bursting at the seams. Half of the world’s population live in urban areas today, and more are coming in. In developed countries 75 percent of their population live in cities. By year 2015, 27 of the world’s 33 largest cities will be found in Asia, with Mumbai and Shanghai bursting with 20 million each. Today the most populous city in the world is Tokyo with 27 million people. New York has 16.3 million which is about the same as Sao Paolo. Metro Manila has 10 million.

On global warming, figures show how the world fares under greenhouse effect. This phenomenon is attributed to the severity of the last three episodes of El Nino in the last three decades, and to the prevalence of deadly tornadoes, hurricane, floods and natural calamities.

A hole in the sky was caused by damaging chemicals that tear down the vital atmospheric ozone shield that keeps us from too much heat and radiation. The size of the ozone hole about the Antarctic region is estimated to be like the whole continental US – and is still expanding. CFC use is now restricted in most countries, but there are other damaging chemicals used by agriculture and industry. Methyl bromide for one is 40 times more destructive to ozone than CFC.

Indeed, this millennium is the deciding point whether we can save Mother Earth - or fail. Already a decade has passed, and the trend of destruction has even increased. If we fail it is also the doom of mankind and the living world. It is yet the greatest challenge to civilization. ~

Part 6 - Let us not allow the tamaraw to become extinct 

I am posting this article to appeal to viewers/readers to help in the campaign of conserving the tamaraw, so with other threatened and endangered species.

Skeleton of a Tamaraw, Museum of Natural History, UPLB Laguna

The tamaraw (Bubalus mindorensis) or Mindoro Dwarf Buffalo is a small hoofed mammal belonging to the family Bovidae. It is endemic to the island of Mindoro in the Philippines and is the only endemic Philippine bovine.

Contrary to common belief and past classification, the tamaraw is not a subspecies of the local carabao, which is only slightly larger, or the common water buffalo. In contrast to the carabao, it has a number of distinguishing characteristics: it is slightly hairier, has light markings on its face, is not gregarious, and has shorter horns that are somewhat V-shaped. It is the largest native terrestrial mammal in the country.

This means that the carabao and tamaraw, though of different lineages, undoubtedly share a common ancestor, together with other buffaloes in Asia and some in different parts of the world. Generally, plant and animal species evolved from common stocks, sometimes called missing links, which scientists find them extremely difficult to find and conclude with concrete evidences.

When Charles Darwin found out that finches vary from island to island in the Galapagos group of islands on the equatorial eastern coast of South America, he was in effect telling to the scientific community of an evolutionary phenomenon called speciation - the formation of species. Because it is a very slow and indeterminate process at that, scientists were baffled by the question, "When is a new species truly a species, and not just a variety or breed of its parent species?"

What I learned from my professor, the famous Dr Deogracias Villadolid who introduced tilapia into the Philippines in the fifties, is that, when the species in question is capable of interbreeding to make a population, and on the other hand, it is no longer capable of breeding with its original stock or parent species - and those from parallel lines emanating from the same stock. Dr Villadolid emphasized that this criterion is reliable, particularly if supported by distinct morphological deviation, and change in ecological distribution.

The tamaraw is no doubt a product of speciation. The island of Mindoro is its original home and still its natural habitat today, the forested areas and near open-canopied glades. Since humans settled in the island and subsequent destruction of the forest they made, the tamaraw population has drastically declined with a few dozens left today in the wild. This is the same situation the wild buffaloes or bisons of the Prairies of North America faced until they were

saved from extinction in the last hour.

Tamaraws graze on grasses which include cogon (Imperata cylindrica) and talahib (Saccharum spontaneum), which abound on wastelands. They also feed on young bamboo shoots (labong). They live for 20 to 25 years. Only one offspring is produced a year after a gestation period of about 300 days, with birth interval of two years, although one female was once sighted with three juveniles. The calf stays for 2 to 4 years with its mother before becoming independent.

Let's help conserve the highly endangered tamaraw, proudly our own.

Credit: Museum of Natural History UPLB, Marlo Rotor for the photo. and Wikipedia

Part 7A - The stone eagle does not answer, 

its world too, is forever gone.

Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature - School on Blog

Philippine Eagle Monument, Agoo La Union

Your wings all day spread and flap,

     now raised in surrender;

And the wind that carried you up

     has put you asunder.

Majestic and lovely, oh bird,

     lord of the open skies;

Across the islands were heard,

     your pleas and helpless cries.

Would a monument suffice

     to enthrone your life and deed,

Bestow a posthumous prize,

     to hide man's folly and greed?

The stone bird does not answer;

     its world too, is forever gone,

And man takes pride in his power

     of make-believe in his art.~

      

Part 7B - Philippine Eagle - Endangered living symbol 

Endangered living symbol, Philippine Eagle, formerly, Monkey Eating Eagle, is one of the biggest eagles in the world. Photograph by Matthew Marlo R. Rotor, Canon EOS 135, Sigma 70-300 mm 2009 

Lord of the sky, king among the feathered, fly -

     over land and sea and sky; 

All day long from dawn to dusk over mountains high, 

     in majestic victorious cry; 

Envy of migrating birds wave after wave passing by, 

     so with the Monarch butterfly; 

That was before - then the forests touched the sky, 

     but now people just look up and sigh. ~

The Philippine eagle, Pithecophaga jefferyi, also known as the monkey-eating eagle or great Philippine eagle, is a critically endangered species of eagle of the family Accipitridae, Class Aves, which is endemic to forests in the Philippines. This species is endemic and found on only four islands in the Philippines: Leyte, Luzon, Mindanao, and Samar.

References: Living with Nature, AVR, UST Manila, Wikipedia, Internet