Calauit island,
the island reserve legacy
of Ferdinand Marcos, the
former president of Philippines, has become a killing
field for African wildlife.
Animal species including
eight species imported from
Kenya such as giraffes,
zebras, impaias and gazelles,
have struggled to survive
on a shoestring budget from
the Department of Natural
Resources. The African
gazelles have already given
up the struggle as is apparent
from their disappearance
from the reserve.
The animals face threats
from poachers armed with
machine guns or bows and
arrows. Another threat is
from nature itself. With
small populations to start
with, the gene pool was limited and in-breeding
inevitable. The result: animals with reduced resistance
to disease and a propensity
to genetic defects. Some
indication of the troubles
besetting the animals is the
smaLler size of third generation giraffes, zebras and
waterbucks which are a
quarter smaller than their
counterparts in Africa.
Conservation measures are
now underway to save the
remaining species.
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