10 Animals Native to the Philippines The Philippines is a beautiful archipelago
nation made up of 7,641 islands.
It is known for its many beautiful beaches, delicious fruits, and exotic island tourist
attractions.
If you go to the islands, you will find no lack of fun and exciting things to do – it
would take more than 20 years to spend just a day on each of the islands – but you should
make sure to carve out some time to see the amazing wildlife!
The Philippines are home to a host of exotic and exciting species.
Here are 10 animals native to the Philippines.
Number ten: Philippine Flying Lemur Known locally as the Kagwang , the Philippine
Flying Lemur has a bit of a misleading name.
It is technically not a species of lemur, and it can’t actually fly!
What’s up with that?
Well, you’ll be relieved to know that this beautiful species can actually glide for distances
as far as 100 meters!
How does it do this?
It has a foot-long tail that is connected to its front legs with a skin membrane.
The result is a monkey-looking creature with big bat-like wings!
They also have clawed feet for fast climbing.
As a nocturnal creature, it spends its days fastened to the side of trees sleeping and
resting.
But at night, they glide from tree to tree eating fruits, insects, young leaves, and
flowers.
Because fruit is one of the major agricultural products of the Philippines, the locals actually
consider this fruit-eating lemur a pest!
But that doesn’t keep us from considering it a beautiful Philippine species and putting
it on our list.
Number Nine: Philippine Crocodile Let’s get a bit more dangerous, shall we?
The Philippine Crocodile is a comparatively small species of crocodile native to the Philippine
islands!
As a freshwater crocodile, they can be found in lakes, rivers, ponds, and especially marshlands.
You can tell a young hatchling by its golden brown scales, but the species’ thick scalene
armor gets darker and darker the older it gets.
While you don’t want to get too close to its broad jaws, its diet mostly consists of
small mammals birds, and lizards.
But don’t let that fool you into thinking that they’re harmless to humans!
Despite being a smaller breed of crocodile, they still usually grow two meters long!
And the largest recorded Philippine Crocodile was three meters – or 9 feet – long!
You won’t find me getting near the business end of those teeth!
Unfortunately, because of this fact, humans have been known to hunt and kill Philippine
crocodiles.
It doesn’t help that their skin and meat can be sold for a profit.
Currently, the Philippine crocodile is a protected species.
Let’s hope that their number jumps back up soon!
Number Eight: Palawan Peacock-Pheasant This bird is drop-dead gorgeous.
The Palawan Peacock-Pheasant is known to be an elusive species of bird.
But if you manage to catch a glimpse, you’ll be rewarded with a great view of a beautiful
shining coat of rich blue feathers.
You’ll know it by the distinctive crest atop its head and the male’s distinctive
tail feathers.
Yes, the Palawan Peacock-Pheasant is named after the Peacock for a reason.
While not as extravagant as the peacock male’s lavish tail-feather display when it fights
off predators or tries to woo a mate, the Palawan Peacock-Pheasant is capable of extending
its tail feathers in a similar way.
The plumage is covered in robin-blue spots that resemble eyes and help to scare predators
away.
They’ll also use this extravagant display in their mating rituals.
The Palawan Peacock-Pheasant is one of those rare species of animal that is truly monogamous,
and both parents typically help to rear newly-hatched chicks.
Number Seven: Tamaraw The Tamaraw is native to Mindoro, one of the
largest islands in the Philippines, and so locals generally call it the Mindoro dwarf
buffalo.
And this name is right on the money!
The Tamaraw looks like, well, a dwarf buffalo!
They are small and stocky, a gray-black color with a stout pair of straight, backward-pointing
horns.
Even though they’re small for a buffalo, they still weigh a stout 200 to 300 kilos.
Do you want to catch a glimpse of wild Tamaraw eating bamboo shoots and grass in forests
and grasslands?
Unfortunately, that’s getting harder and harder to do.
A count in 2016 placed the wild Tamaraw count at only 430, placing it on the crucially endangered
species list.
They continue to be hunted by poachers for sport and meat, and human population growth
is relentlessly threatening their habitat.
Luckily, The most recent count places their numbers at 466 to 494.
Let’s hope that upward trend continues!
Number Six: Dinagat Bushy-Tailed Cloud Rat You might not think of a species called a
“cloud rat” as an exciting species of wildlife to seek out, but in many ways, the
Dinagat Bushy-Tailed Cloud Rat is the holy grail of Philippine wildlife.
It is the rarest of eight species of Philippine cloud rats, all of which are either threatened
or endangered.
It made its first appearance only in the 1970s and wasn’t seen again until 2012.
That’s four decades between sightings!
It’s no wonder that many conservationists thought the species was extinct!
They are a tree-dwelling species of rodent that feeds on leaves, and they can grow up
to 2.5 feet long.
Because of the uniqueness of this critically endangered species, it is the mascot of the
Philippine Biodiversity Conservation Foundation.
But studies of the species remain limited due to how difficult they are to find.
All I can say is, if you’re lucky enough to encounter one of these rare creatures during
your trips to the Philippines, count yourself lucky!
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Number Five: Visayan Warty Pig Alright, back to the animals!
This is another extremely rare species of animals, driven from their homes by deforestation
during the 1970s and 80s.
Today only around 300 of them live in captivity.
They were named for the quote-on-quote warts on their faces, but “Mohawk Pig”might
have been just as appropriate for a name!
They can be recognized by the distinctive tuft of hair atop their heads that has been
described as very mohawk-like.
Believe it or not, this floppy mane is grown by males every year to help them attract mates!
But you’ll also want to keep an eye on the sharp tusks that extend out from their faces.
Yes, those can be quite dangerous.
But that doesn’t mean that their species deserves to be completely eradicated!
Despite strict government poaching policies, they continued to be poached for their meat,
which is considered a delicacy by some.
Thankfully, the species is breeding well in captivity, and efforts have already begun
to reintroduce them into the wild!
Number Four: Philippine Mouse-Deer What would you get if you took a tiny little
field mouse and mixed it with a graceful deer?
Why the Philippine Mouse-Deer of course!
Okay, this species isn’t actually a mouse-deer hybrid, but judging by looks alone, it might
as well be!
Only growing to 18 centimeters at the shoulders, they are hard to spot in their natural habitat,
hiding amid thick vegetation!
And if you do manage to find one, you’ll only get the briefest of glimpses before it
tiptoes away on its dainty little legs.
Like many of the other species on this list, the Philippine Mouse-Deer has suffered a blow
to its population from loss of habitat and hunting.
Like the Warty Pig mentioned just before, its meat is considered a delicacy.
Number Three: Whale Shark I will admit, Whale Sharks live in far more
places than the waters of the Philippines – after all, the Ocean is a big place – but
since thousands of them migrate to the Philippine Elasmobranch Mecca from December to May, they
deserve a spot on this list.
Sometimes reaching lengths of up to 40 feet, Whale Sharks are the largest species of shark
in the world, so large, in fact, that they have often been mistaken for whales!
Thus the name.
But don’t worry!
They aren’t after humans!
They swim around close to the surface to catch tiny food sources in the water like plankton.
Do a YouTube search, and you’ll find plenty of videos of scuba divers safely swimming
around massive whale sharks as they meander around in the deep blue.
In the Philippines, the prime time to spot a Whale Shark is from February to April.
And so if you’re more of a beach and ocean type of person than a jungle lover, maybe
you would enjoy one ofseveral tourist attractions in the Philippines devoted to swimming with
Whale Sharks!
Number Two: Philippine Tarsier Chances are you’ve seen one of these small
primates pop up on YouTube before.
Their distinctive appearance gives the Philippine Tarsier plenty of air time on wildlife programs
like our own!
With their long, spindly fingers, compact appearance, and absolutely massive eyes, there
really isn’t anything that looks quite like the Tarsier.
In my opinion, it constantly looks like it has just seen the most shocking thing it could
have possibly imagined!
It is one of the world’s smallest primates, and everything about it is built for nocturnal
life.
One of the first things that you probably noticed about this small creature the first
time that you saw it is its massive eyes.
Well, those are perfect for seeing at night.
Likewise, its large conical ears are very sensitive, capturing and amplifying sounds
very effectively so that the Tarsier can use its hearing as a tool to navigate dark jungle
nights.
You might know that Tarsiers can be purchased as pets through some exotic vendors.
But you might want to think twice before buying one!
These animals cope terribly with captivity, and often don’t survive the ordeal.
They are better off left to the wild jungles that they love.
Before we reveal our favorite animal native to the Philippines, thank you so much for
watching.
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friends?
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Number One: Philippine Eagle Once known as the monkey-eating eagle, the
Philippine eagle is a powerful bird.
In fact, it is one of the largest and strongest species of eagles on the entire planet!
On top of its impressive size, the Philippine Eagle has an impressive long arched beak and
distinctively majestic long crown feathers.
Move aside, Bald Eagle!
Here’s a bird that managed to keep its hair, and it looks truly regal.
In keeping with its reputation for strength and superiority, the Philippine Eagle also
eats lemurs, snakes, and bats.
But the best thing about the Philippine Eagles is its success story.
Not too long ago, there were only a few of these birds left.
They were on the verge of extinction!
But thanks to the Philippine Eagle Center, their numbers have sprung back from the brink,
and they have been saved from extinction- For now.
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