wildlife

Kuala Lumpur: KL Bird Park – World Largest Free-Flight Walk-In Aviary [SP]

Posted on February 21, 2014

An Indian peacock struts his stuff at KL Bird Park – the largest free-flight walk-in aviary in the world. One of the fascinating stops on the eco-friendly bicycle and tram tours from the KL City Gallery is the KL Bird Park (Taman Burung) – the largest free-flight walk-in aviary in the world! Located in the serene and scenic Kuala Lumpur Lake Gardens, it is only 10 minutes drive away from the city center. It is the home to more than 3,000Read More→

San Mariano, Isabela: Philippine Crocodile Municipal Rearing Station

Posted on February 5, 2014

Philippine crocodile hatchlings at the municipal rearing station in San Mariano, Isabela Amidst the foothills of Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park, one can cozy up with the world’s rarest crocodile – the Philippine freshwater crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis) or burakot in the Ilocano tongue. This is a relatively small crocodilian species, with most adults measuring five feet in length. However, they are known to reach maximum lengths of 10 feet. Close to extinction, less than 100 adults remain in the wild,Read More→

Narra, Palawan: Spotting the Rare Philippine Cockatoos of Rasa Island Wildlife Sanctuary

Posted on July 4, 2013

Only 1,000 Philippine Cockatoos are left in the wild, with 300 of them living on Rasa Island From San Vicente, I headed back down to Puerto Princesa City and continued further down south to the municipality of Narra, where I visited Rasa Island, home of the last remaining large population of Philippine Cockatoo (Cacatua haematuropygi), locally known as katala. There are only around 1,000 individuals left across the Philippine archipelago, and this species is found no where else on the planet.Read More→

Taman Negara, Pahang: Exploring the Oldest Tropical Rainforest on Earth! [SP]

Posted on July 31, 2012

Hiking to Bukit Terisek viewpoints Located at the heart of Peninsular Malaysia, Taman Negara – or “National Park” – has been dated to be 135 million years old, and considered by many to be the oldest tropical rainforest in the world. The gateway to the national park is the town of Jerantut, where the Kuala Tembeling jetty serves as a jump-off point for a three-hour riverboat ride to the village of Kuala Tahan in the middle of the rainforest. KualaRead More→

Calayan Island: Seeking the Calayan Rail (Piding) at Longog Wildlife Sanctuary

Posted on April 13, 2012

Calayan Rail. Photo by ISLA Biodiversity Conservation What propelled remote Calayan Island to national attention a few years back were not its stunning coastlines, but an avian discovery in its thick forested interior. The Calayan Rail (Gallirallus calayanensis), locally known as piding, is an island-endemic species of flightless bird found only in the jungles of Calayan. It was discovered by science during a faunal survey only eight years ago, in 2004.  In search for this very rare bird, we hikedRead More→

Tawi-Tawi: Pearl of the South

Posted on October 18, 2011

The following is a commissioned article I wrote for this month’s issue (October 2011) of SMILE, the in-flight magazine of Cebu Pacific Air. You may browse the magazine online at http://www.cebusmile.comMy prayers on Bud Bongao — the sacred peak that juts out beyond Tawi-Tawi’s provincial capital skyline — were answered. On my last day, the weather ripened to give me my only opportunity to venture further south to the final frontier of Sitangkai. With the blessings of Juana Sahali — theRead More→