36 endangered crocs set to be released into Siargao marsh

More than 30 endangered freshwater crocodiles will be released to a secured environment in Surigao del Norte province later this week, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). The release of the 36 crocodiles — six male, 30 female — seeks to establish a "viable and free-ranging population" of the Philippine Crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis) within a secured environment, said Josefina de Leon, Wildlife Resources Division chief of the DENR's Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB), at a press briefing Tuesday. The crocodiles will be released on Friday in Paghongawan Marsh in Jaboy village in Siargao Island, De Leon said. Due to its critical low population level, the Philippine Crocodile is nationally protected under Republic Act 9147, the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act, and other Philippine laws, she said. It is also internationally protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, De Leon added. Vicente Mercado of the Crocodylus Porosus Philippines Inc. (CPPI) said there are only around 250 adult Philippine Crocodiles in the country. "But we suspect that there are more," he added. 5% survival rate Noting the difficulty in breeding crocodiles, Mercado said in the wild, the survival rate of hatchlings is only about five percent, while the rate for those in captivity is about 50 percent. "Sa farm lang, let's say we have 1,000 hatchlings, ang nabubuhay diyan, 500 to 600, so mahirap mag-breed ng crocodiles," he said. "Sa wild, five percent lang." For her part, PAWB director Theresa Mundita Lim said the crocodiles that will be released will have a higher survival rate because they will be monitored. "We have embedded microchips on them so they can be monitored," she said. Mercado said releasing the critically endangered species in the wild will help them survive. "These critically endangered species should be in the wild. There is joy in seeing these animals to be in the wild than in the farm, especially it is a critically endangered species. We are helping the species to survive," he told GMA News Online. "There is no market for it, so if we breed it in captivity, what happens, where will they go? Mas maganda kung nasa wild siya, it is on its own. That is the logic behind it," he added. Assimilation According to Mercado, the crocodiles to be released were born in captivity in Pag-asa Farm in Kapalong, Davao City. These are the offsprings from the founder stock DENR loaned to Pag-asa Farm. When asked if the crocodiles would have difficulty in assimilating into the wild since they were born in captivity, Mercado said these crocodiles are used to fend for themselves. "Actually, the parent stock of these crocodiles are in a semi-wild facility and since year 2007 March, when [world-renowned crocodile expert and CPPI chairperson] Dr. Angel Alcala came to our facility, he instructed our people there not to feed these crocodiles," he said. "Since then, these crocodiles were not fed at all," he added. Safe for humans Mercado, meanwhile, assured the public that the crocodiles that will be released will not pose as a danger to the residents living near the marsh. "These mindorensis, they shy away from humans,"  he said. "There are communities around, but the people there are used to dealing with crocodiles. It is a very small island and there are over 5,000 hectares of mangroves in the area and the people here are fishermen so they go to the sea, they are very careful with crocodiles so they know how to deal with crocodiles already," he added. According to Mercado, they started the project in 2010 and they have talked to the community in how they deal with crocodiles. "That is why we thought of choosing this area because of that—people are used to dealing with crocodiles," he said. — KBK, GMA News