The Philippine Crocodile is one of the rarest and most endangered crocodiles in the world. Once found throughout the Philippines, in 2001 there were only 12 known individuals left in the wild due to habitat loss, pollution and overfishing. However, local people have pulled together to support a strong comeback for their crocodiles, and it is now estimated that there are around 250 in the wild.
At the heart of this recovery effort is Synchronicity Earth’s partner, the Mabuwaya Foundation. Our Conservation Research Analyst Anna Heath recently visited the organisation in the Isabela province of Luzon, Philippines, and here she shares their stories of rehabilitating this Critically Endangered species.
Dunoy Lake
Dunoy Lake is one of the only places in the world you can see the Philippine Crocodile in the wild. I took this photo from an observation tower overlooking the lake that the Mabuwaya Foundation built to monitor the crocodile populations. As I sat up there with the team, Marites Gatan Balbas, the Director of Mabuwaya, told me that when they started working there, the area was being heavily logged. This land had once been barren rice paddies, but now it is one of their most longstanding crocodile sanctuaries. It took Mabuwaya over a decade of working slowly with the communities around the park to convince them to stop logging and farming in the area.
As we listened to the late evening bird song, Marites whispered,
“Before you could just hear chainsaws, now you can hear this.”
A community for crocodiles
