05
Jan 2009 - Manila, Philippines - The lifeless
body of another baleen whale was found floating
beside a passenger ship moored on Manila
Bay’s Pier 13 two days before the end of
the year, according to WWF-Philippines.
Measuring 9.8 metres
and weighing almost three tonnes, the whale,
thought to be either a Minke (Balaenoptera
acutorostata) or a Bryde's whale (Balaenoptera
edeni) was brought to and buried in a local
fish cemetery.
In August 2007 another
baleen whale carcass was found floating
at the mouth of Manila Bay. Bloated and
badly decomposed, it was towed ashore to
an isolated cove. After photographs and
all possible records were obtained, it was
buried properly by a team from the Hamilo
Coast with the assistance of WWF.
Due to the condition
of the animal’s body, and local concerns
about possible health impacts of a large
decomposing carcass on the coastline, it
was difficult to conduct a proper necropsy
at the time and as such the cause of death
for the 2007 animal was not determined.
Baleen whales may be
harmed in a number of ways: entanglement
in fishing gear, heavy boat traffic leading
to ship strikes, pollution, and competition
with humans for food resources. They could
also die from disease.
Between 2001 and 2005
a total of 417 such events were reported
on the US Eastern Seaboard, involving both
live and dead whales. Of these 292 mortalities
were confirmed. However, the cause of death
could not be determined for 76 per cent
of the animals and so the odds are against
ever determining how and why the 29 December
whale died.
“Over the past two years
the dead carcasses of two baleen whales
that we rarely see in the wild these days
were found floating in the area of Manila
Bay,” said Jose Ma. Lorenzo Tan, WWF-Philippines
Vice-Chair.
“Due to new species
information about these large filter feeders,
no one can say for sure what species they
belong to without a proper DNA analysis.
We are not even certain what whales these
were. Can anyone estimate how many more
whale deaths may have occurred in and around
Manila Bay, which we do not even know about?”
+ More
‘Mermaid’ rescued in
Philippines
06 Jan 2009 - Manila,
Philippines - Two brave fishermen from the
Philippines began the year by saving the
life of a trapped dugong or sea cow, the
ancient sea mammal generally credited with
being the origin of the mermaid myth.
On the afternoon of
1 January Henry Barlas, from the coastal
barangay of Maruyogon in Puerto Princesa,
noticed something unusual as he gazed at
the shallow lagoon fronting his home. Less
than 10 metres from shore a 2.6m long dugong
lay trapped and weakened by the tide, clearly
fighting for life.
Without hesitation he
called his colleague Paquito Abia and with
the aid of volunteers pushed the refrigerator-sized
animal to safety. Since the creature was
too weak to fight the ebb tide, the two
fishermen fastened a rope around its midriff
- it was to survive the swells that drove
it ashore the animal needed to recuperate
in waist-high water.
In the morning Barlas
immediately notified both local officials
and WWF-Philippines of the stranding before
heading off to check on the dugong. When
WWF assessed that the animal was fit enough
for release, its ropes were untied and the
animal was gradually coaxed out of the lagoon.
Cheering onlookers flocked ashore to bid
farewell to the wondrous creature brought
in by the tide.
WWF Project Manager
Mavic Matillano said: “The best part was
that we barely needed to do anything. Both
Henry and Paquito acted out of instinct
and for this we are doubly proud. It seems
that the long years of conducting dugong
awareness campaigns have once again paid
off.”
Trapped under similar
conditions, another dugong was rescued by
a 15-year old boy in 2007. “Marine mammal
strandings are uncommon occurrences but
they do happen,” said resident WWF dugong
expert Sheila Albasin. “Fortunately it seems
people know what to do when a stranding
does take place.”
The gentle dugong or
sea cow inhabits shallow waters of the Indo-Pacific,
wherever seagrass is most abundant. It is
the fourth member of the order Sirenia,
alongside the three manatee species. A fifth,
the gigantic eight-metre long steller’s
sea cow, was completely wiped out in 11000,
just 30 years after being discovered.
Sizeable herds of dugong
- the source of popular mermaid lore - once
plied the Philippine archipelago until hunting
and habitat degradation reduced overall
numbers. When seen from above, the top half
of a dugong can appear like that of a human
woman. Coupled with the tail fin, this produced
an image of what mariners often mistook
for an aquatic human.
Thriving populations
are now protected in Isabela, Southern Mindanao
and Palawan, keeping seagrass meadows cropped,
healthy and productive. Dugongs are thought
to live up to 70 years, but give birth to
a only single calf every three to five years.
They are classified by the IUCN as vulnerable
and it is one of the flagship species that
WWF protects in the Philippines.
In the last decade WWF
helped establish a Roxas-based marine-mammal
rescue network which has been monitoring
strandings and spearheading rescues of dugongs
accidentally entangled in fishing gear.
Awareness drives to protect not just dugongs,
but dolphins and whales, are still conducted
regularly.
