Ray of hope for threatened crocodiles

A project funded by the Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP) has released fifty captive-bred Philippine Crocodiles Crocodylus mindorensis into the wild at Dicatian Lake, Luzon Island, Philippines, in an effort to save this species from extinction.

The community-based crocodile conservation programme was implemented by the Mabuwaya Foundation with funding from the Rufford Maurice Laing Foundation.

"This provides hope for the future of the Philippine Crocodile", said Kiragu Mwangi, Birdlife's Programme Officer for the CLP.

The Philippine Crocodile is the most threatened crocodile species on the planet and is endemic to the Philippines. It has virtually disappeared due to hunting, destructive fishing and habitat loss and it is estimated that only 100 mature individuals survive in the wild.

Nearby communities, which have been actively involved in the consultation process, are supportive of the reintroduction scheme and it is hoped that they will be able to generate an alternative income from a small community-based ecotourism project. They have received training from the Department of Tourism and facilities for crocodile-spotting, bird watching and camping have been built on the edge of the lake.

In recent years, the Mabuwaya Foundation, in collaboration with the provincial government of Isabela, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Isabela State University and rural communities, has worked on the ground to save this Critically Endangered species from extinction. The release of these crocodiles is a major step towards a recovery of the wild population and the future survival of this species.

Ten of the crocodiles have been fitted with radio transmitters and their movements will be monitored by the Mabuwaya Foundation and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to see how they adapt to their new habitat, and to gather scientific information as a basis for future crocodile reintroductions.

Dicatian Lake was selected as the best site for the reintroduction as it is located within one of the most important protected areas of the Philippines (the Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park), it contains an abundance of prey species, and no people living directly adjacent to the lake.