Wildlife Holidays in the Philippines

Faced with this bewildering diversity, it could be hard to know where to begin a visit to the Philippines. Happily, several islands, each with its own distinct cultural and ecological character, offer particularly rewarding experiences for the wildlife traveller. In the north, Luzon, home to the bustling metropolis of Manila, is an obvious starting point, with the tree-clad slopes of Mount Makiling lying not far from the city. Here, lower altitudes still support the towering dipterocarp forests that would once have blanketed much of the archipelago; higher up, they are replaced by intriguing, mossy oak-laurel woodlands. Fabulous birds, too, are much in evidence, including Luzon Hornbill, Spotted Wood Kingfisher, Scale-feathered Malkoha, Rufous Coucal and the secretive yet striking Ashy Thrush.

An especially productive area for birding is the Infanta Road, a forested corridor that passes through primary and secondary forests, riparian zones, and roadside edge habitats. Blue-headed Fantail and Green-backed Whistler flit through the trees, Philippine Serpent Eagle patrols the skies, and sought-after skulkers like Whiskered Pitta, Philippine Dwarf Kingfisher, and the magnificent Luzon Bleeding-heart Dove may reveal themselves to the patient observer. Further west, the Subic Bay area offers chances for additional variety: Balicassiao (a Philippine drongo), Blue-naped Parrot, White-lored Oriole, Philippine Falconet and Green Racquet-tail, as well as roosting Golden-capped Fruit Bat and Giant Flying Fox.

South of Luzon is the central archipelago known as the Visayas; here lie the islands of Negros and Bohol, the latter often referred to as “the Jewel of the Philippines”, with the countless cone-shaped mounds of the Chocolate Hills forming one of the country’s most famous and breathtaking landscapes. They are more than simply scenic, being home, too, to Philippine Bulbul, Samar Hornbill and Rufous-lored Kingfisher, alongside many other species. However, it is the nearby Rajah Sikatuna National Park, with its lowland limestone forests and wealth of local endemics, that is the greater draw for naturalists. Philippine and Azure-breasted Pittas, Black-faced Coucal, Visayan Broadbill, Yellow-breasted Tailorbird, Flame-crowned Flowerpecker and Philippine Fairy-bluebird are amongst a host of possible targets, as well as the shy and beautiful Philippine Trogon.

Mammals on Bohol include Crab-eating Macaque and the bizarre Philippine Colugo, whose alternative name of Flying Lemur alludes to its ability to glide great distances through the rainforest night. Another wonderful nocturnal species is the Philippine Tarsier, a minute goblin-like primate with proportionally the largest eyes of any mammal, and there is good whale-watching offshore, especially for Spinner and Bottlenose Dolphins. A short ferry ride from Bohol is Negros, with its own special habitats and species, such as Visayan Flowerpecker, Negros Striped and Flame-templed Babblers, Negros Leaf Warbler and Negros Scops Owl.

The westernmost island of all is Palawan, which has more in common with Borneo, ecologically, than with the rest of the Philippines. One of the great prizes here is the achingly beautiful Palawan Peacock Pheasant, which can be viewed from hides that also attract Palawan Treeshrew and flocks of tame Ashy-headed Babbler. The island’s dramatic limestone landscapes are additionally home to Palawan Flycatcher, Spot-throated Flameback, Palawan Hornbill, Blue-headed Racquet-tail and the endangered Philippine Cockatoo, while darkness brings out species like Palawan and Mantanani Scops Owls, and the strange Palawan Frogmouth. Night-time is also best for seeking out the island’s numerous (but often vanishingly elusive) mammals, amongst them Palawan Porcupine, Palawan Stink Badger, Sunda Leopard Cat, Asian Short-clawed Otter and even the near-mythical Philippine Pangolin. Furthermore, Palawan’s shallow, sunlit coastal waters are excellent for Dugong, as well as some of the best coral reef fish assemblages in the world.

In the far south is the island of Mindanao, which supports some of the greatest, most remote remaining tracts of rainforest in the country. Requiring special arrangements to visit, these isolated mountain treescapes are hard to reach, with little infrastructure or comfort for travellers, but they provide an opportunity to search for perhaps the most spectacular bird of prey on Earth: the legendary Philippine Eagle.

What’s special about its wildlife?

The extraordinary geography of the Philippines, with its myriad distinct island groups, has given rise to an assemblage of unique, weird and wonderful wildlife. The country consequently has one of the highest rates of endemism in the world. In fact, so brimming is the archipelago with biodiversity that creatures new to science are still discovered here more often than almost anywhere else on Earth. The distinct ecological identity of each island group within the Philippines means that a visitor to the country can experience a spectacular variety of landscapes and wildlife in a relatively short space of time.

Perhaps most appealing is its avifauna. Out of around 760 recorded bird species, more than 260 are endemic to the Philippines; of all the countries of the world, only Indonesia and Australia have more. Amongst them are such avian wonders as Azure-breasted Pitta, Visayan Hornbill, Palawan Peacock Pheasant, Philippine Cockatoo, and the majestic Philippine (or Monkey-eating) Eagle, the national bird.

The country’s other wildlife, too, is astonishing and diverse. More than 100 endemic mammals include the bug-eyed Philippine Tarsier, Philippine Pangolin, and Philippine Colugo, whose ability to glide between forest trees is shared by the Harlequin Flying Frog. Other exciting reptiles and amphibians amongst over 200 endemic species are Luzon Fanged Frog, Philippine Sailfin Lizard, Emerald Tree Skink and the critically endangered Philippine Crocodile. Last but very far from least, the azure waters of the Philippines are home to some of the planet’s most vibrant coral reef communities, as well as marine mammals like Dugong and Spinner Dolphin.