Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center

Last updated

Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center
Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center (9165480252).jpg
Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center
Date opened1987 (1987)
Date closed 9°47′57″N118°41′38″E / 9.79925°N 118.69378°E / 9.79925; 118.69378
LocationIrawan, Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines
Land area10 hectares (25 acres)
No. of animals1695+ (2021)
ManagementNatural Resource Development Corporation

The Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center (PWRCC) is a wildlife rehabilitation and conservation facility and crocodile farm in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines.

Contents

History

The Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center (PWRCC) was established on August 20, 1987, as the Crocodile Farming Institute (CFI). A joint venture of the Philippine government's Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the CFI is intended to facilitate the sustainable conservation of the Philippine crocodile and Saltwater crocodile as well as to promote crocodile farming to locals as a means of livelihood. The management of the facility was done by the DENR's Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) [1]

In 2000, the CFI was renamed as the Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center (PWRCC) through DENR Administrative Order 49. From 2002 to 2010, the Natural Resource Development Corporation (NRDC) took full control over the PWRCC. For 10 years the management of the PWRCC was taken care by the BMB, except the commercial aspect which was handled by the NRDC. In 2020, the PWRCC was once again reverted to the NRDC. [1]

Fauna and flora

Saltwater crocodile in captivity at the PWRCC Saltwater Crocodile (48087912433).jpg
Saltwater crocodile in captivity at the PWRCC

Also known as the Crocodile Farm, the PWRCC is dedicated to keeping two endemic crocodile species in captivity – the Philippine crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis) and the Saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus). The facility has accreditation from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) which it obtained on January 4, 1997, allowing it to sell Saltwater crocodiles for commercial purposes. [1] While it is illegal for the center to sell Philippine crocodiles, Saltwater crocodiles are sometimes sold for their leather. [2] It also hosts other animals and plants including Palawan endemic species. Some animals were temporarily kept in the facility for rehabilitation due to being found injured in the wild or seized by authorities from illegal captivity and are meant to be released back to the wild. Some animals are kept under long-term captivity in the PWRCC. The PWRCC is also open to the public and organizes informational tours. As of October 2021, the facility hosts 1,450 individual crocodiles and 245 other wild animals. [1]

The PWRCC has four components: [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saltwater crocodile</span> Reptile of South Asia, Southeast Asia and Oceania

The saltwater crocodile is a crocodilian native to saltwater habitats, brackish wetlands and freshwater rivers from India's east coast across Southeast Asia and the Sundaic region to northern Australia and Micronesia. It has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 1996. It was hunted for its skin throughout its range up to the 1970s, and is threatened by illegal killing and habitat loss. It is regarded as dangerous to humans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madras Crocodile Bank Trust</span> Herpetology research station in Chennai, India

The Madras Crocodile Bank Trust and Centre for Herpetology (MCBT) is a reptile zoo and herpetology research station, located 40 kilometres (25 mi) south of the city of Chennai, in state of Tamil Nadu, India. The centre is both a registered trust and a recognized zoo under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and comes under the purview of the Central Zoo Authority, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India. It was established with the aim of saving three Indian endangered species of crocodile—the marsh or mugger crocodile, the saltwater crocodile, and the gharial, which at the time of founding of the trust were all nearing extinction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American crocodile</span> Species of crocodile endemic to the Neotropics

The American crocodile is a species of crocodilian found in the Neotropics. It is the most widespread of the four extant species of crocodiles from the Americas, with populations present from South Florida and the coasts of Mexico to as far south as Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siamese crocodile</span> Species of reptile

The Siamese crocodile is a medium-sized freshwater crocodile native to Indonesia, Brunei, East Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. The species is critically endangered and already extirpated from many regions. Its other common names include Siamese freshwater crocodile, Singapore small-grain, and soft-belly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philippine crocodile</span> Species of crocodile

The Philippine crocodile, also known as the Mindoro crocodile, the Philippine freshwater crocodile, the bukarot in Ilocano, and more generally as a buwaya in most Filipino lowland cultures, is one of two species of crocodiles found in the Philippines; the other is the larger saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus). The Philippine crocodile, the species endemic only to the country, went from data deficient to critically endangered in 2008 from exploitation and unsustainable fishing methods, such as dynamite fishing. Conservation methods are being taken by the Dutch/Filipino Mabuwaya foundation, the Crocodile Conservation Society and the Zoological Institute of HerpaWorld in Mindoro island. It is strictly prohibited to kill a crocodile in the country, and it is punishable by law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife rehabilitation</span>

Wildlife rehabilitation is the treatment and care of injured, orphaned, or sick wild animals so that they can be released back to the wild.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Guinea crocodile</span> Species of reptile

The New Guinea crocodile is a small species of crocodile found on the island of New Guinea north of the mountain ridge that runs along the centre of the island. The population found south of the mountain ridge, formerly considered a genetically distinct population, is now considered a distinct species, Hall's New Guinea crocodile. In the past it included the Philippine crocodile, C. n. mindorensis, as a subspecies, but today they are regarded as separate species. The habitat of the New Guinea crocodile is mostly freshwater swamps and lakes. It is most active at night when it feeds on fish and a range of other small animals. A female crocodile lays a clutch of eggs in a nest composed of vegetation and she lies up nearby to guard the nest. There is some degree of parental care for newly hatched juveniles. This crocodile was over-hunted for its valuable skin in the mid 20th century, but conservation measures have since been put in place, it is reared in ranches and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists it as being of "Least Concern".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife law in Belize</span> Wildlife Protection Act

After declaring independence in 1981, Belize enacted the Wildlife Protection Act, which is the main source of wildlife law in Belize. Wildlife in Belize is defined as any undomesticated mammal, reptile or bird, amphibian and any egg, nest or part or product thereof. Although Belize is only two hundred miles (320 km) long and a little more than sixty miles (97 km) wide, it hosts a remarkable abundance of flora and fauna. It is the home of more than 150 species of mammals, 549 birds, 150 amphibians and reptiles, nearly 600 species of freshwater and marine fish and 3,408 species of vascular plants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crocodile farm</span> Establishment for breeding and raising of crocodilians

A crocodile farm or alligator farm is an establishment for breeding and raising of crocodilians in order to produce crocodile and alligator meat, leather from crocodile and alligator skin, and other goods. Many species of both alligators and crocodiles are farmed internationally. In Louisiana alone, alligator farming is a $60 to $70 million industry. Most crocodile farms are located in Thailand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Center</span> Zoo in Quezon City, Philippines

The Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Center is a 23.85-hectare (58.9-acre) Protected Area located in Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines. It was named after Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. The Ninoy Aquino Parks & Wildlife Center has a lagoon, an aquarium, a playground, botanical garden and a Wildlife Rescue Center, which the Department of Environment and Natural Resources uses as a temporary shelter where confiscated, retrieved, donated, sick, abandoned, and injured wild animals are placed to be taken care of. The park houses several indigenous plants and animals such as crab-eating macaques, water monitors, Philippine deer, binturongs, Palawan bearded pigs and several varieties of birds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife of the Philippines</span> Flora and fauna of the Philippines

The wildlife of the Philippines includes a significant number of endemic plant and animal species. The country's surrounding waters reportedly have the highest level of marine biodiversity in the world. The Philippines is one of the seventeen megadiverse countries and is a global biodiversity hotspot. In 2013, 700 of the country's 52,177 species were listed as threatened.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lolong</span> Famous giant saltwater crocodile (died 2013)

Lolong was the largest crocodile in captivity. He was a saltwater crocodile measured at 6.17 m, and weighed 1,075 kg (2,370 lb), making him one of the largest crocodiles ever measured from snout-to-tail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mounts Iglit–Baco Natural Park</span>

The Mounts Iglit–Baco Natural Park (MIBNP) is a legislated protected area of the Philippines and an ASEAN Heritage Park located in the island of Mindoro in central Philippines. First established in 1970 by virtue of Republic Act No. 6148 as "National Park" that covers an area of 75,445 hectares surrounding Mount Iglit and Mount Baco in the central interior of Mindoro. The park is the home of the largest remaining population of the critically endangered Tamaraw. In 2003, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations listed it as one of its four heritage parks in the Philippines. The park has also been nominated in the Tentative List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2006. In 2018, the park was designated as a “Natural Park” under the Republic Act No. 11038 or the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas Systems (ENIPAS) Act of 2018 and increased the area to 106,655.62 hectares.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calauit Safari Park</span> Safari park in Philippines

Calauit Safari Park is a wildlife sanctuary in the Philippines which was originally created in 1976 as a game reserve featuring large African mammals, translocated there under the orders of the President Ferdinand Marcos during his 21-year rule of the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luzon rain forests</span> Ecoregion in Luzon, the Philippines

The Luzon rain forest is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion on the island of Luzon. Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines, and the Luzon rain forest is the most extensive rainforest ecoregion of the country. The ecoregion includes the lowlands of Luzon and neighboring islands below 1000 meters elevation. Very little of the original rainforest remains, and the status of this area is critical/endangered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crocodile farming in the Philippines</span>

Crocodile farming in the Philippines refers to agricultural industries involving the raising and harvesting of crocodiles for the commercial production of Crocodile meat and crocodile leather.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crocodile Breeding Centre, Kurukshetra</span> Wildlife breeding in Haryana, India

Bhor Saidan Crocodile Breeding Centre, managed by the Haryana Forests Department to captive breed and conserve the freshwater mugger crocodile native to India, is located at Bhor Saidan village on Kurukshetra-Pehowa Road in Kurukshetra district of Haryana in India. It is 13 km from the old Kurukshetra Bus Stand and 22 km from the new Kurukshetra Bus Stand in sector 10.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife SOS</span> Animal rescue organization in India

Wildlife SOS (WSOS) is a conservation non-profit organisation in India, established in 1995 with the primary objective of rescuing and rehabilitating wildlife in distress, and preserving India's natural heritage. It is currently one of the largest wildlife organisations in South Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luzon montane rain forests</span> Ecoregion in Luzon, the Philippines

The Luzon montane rain forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. The ecoregion is located on several volcanic and non-volcanic mountains of the island. Luzon is the largest and northernmost major island of the Philippines, located in the western Pacific Ocean.

The Mari-it Wildlife and Conservation Park is a protected area in Lambunao, Iloilo in the island of Panay in the Philippines. It is managed by the West Visayas State University–College of Agriculture and Forestry (WVSU-CAF). It was also the largest hornbill breeding facility in the world.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center". Natural Resource Development Corporation. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  2. Morella, Cecil (August 15, 2014). "Ultra-rare crocs survive in Philippine 'Noah's Ark'". phys.org. Retrieved December 29, 2021.