Dwindling in the Philippines Trivia Quiz

Answer: Rodentia

The name really should have been a big clue here, as rats are one of the most familiar members of this order. Phloeomys cumingi is also called the southern giant slender-tailed cloud rat or, in Filipino, bugkon. The southern part of its name indicates that it is found in the southern part of Luzon - it has a cousin in the north whose coat has light patches.

It is quite large, up to 75 cm (30 in) in length, and 2 kg (4.5 lb) in weight, with the tail forming a bit less than half its length. They are found in forests up to an elevation of around 900m, where they are equally at home on the ground and in the trees, where they spend most of their time during the day.

The first one was identified on Luzon in 1839; they have since been found in several small islands in the vicinity, including Marinduque, Mindoro and Catanduanes.

Answer: True

Found only on the island of Mindoro, this bird is also called Pink-throated Imperial pigeon, and can reach lengths of up to 50 cm (20 in). Members of the genus ducula are called imperial pigeons because of their large size, and heavy-set body. They are generally fructivorous, and the Mindoro birds have been seen eating fruits ranging in size from small berries up to the size of a small peach.

They can be found where appropriate rainforests remain, but that area is dwindling due to logging, and they are considered endangered with between 500 and 1500 adults in the wild.

Answer: It eats primarily fruit.

Found only on the island of Panay, this lizard is highly endangered because it is arboreal, depending on a rainforest habitat which is being steadily removed. The image doesn't give a good idea of its size - an adult can weigh up to nearly 6 kg (15 lb) and have a length of around 54 cm (21 in) for the body, 175 cm (70 in) including the tail.

While most monitor lizards are carnivores, eating (depending on their size) egg, insects, smaller reptiles and mammals, fish and birds, the Panay monitor is specialised for eating fruit, and only occasionally includes other foods in its diet.

Answer: Visayan hornbill

There are thought to be fewer than 2000 Visayan hornbills surviving in the rainforests of the islands of Panay, Negros, Masbate and Guimeras; the population on the island of Ticao is thought to be extinct. They were described as abundant in 1905, but subsequent clearing of the island to establish plantations and human residential areas has been devastating - the last known sighting on Ticao was in 1971.

They were first described in 1780 by George-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (with accompanying illustration by Francois-Nicolas Martine), and given the binomial classification of Buceros panini (a reference to their location on Panay) in 1783 by Pieter Boddaert.

In 1849 some reclassification by Ludwig Reichenbach led to the establishment of a new genus, Penelopides, which includes all hornbills.

The bird pictured is female - you can tell by the dark plumage, since males have white or cream feathers on the head and neck.

Answer: Prince Alfred sent him the type specimen, collected while he was on a visit

Prince Alfred (at the time, Duke of Edinburgh, later reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha) made a number of visits, both official and unofficial, around the Empire while he was serving in the Navy. On one of these trips, he collected and sent home a specimen of a Philippine spotted deer, which was called Cervus alfredi in his honour.

They were not actually identified as a separate species from the other two types of deer endemic to the Philippines until 1983, by which time their population was already in serious decline. By 1991, they inhabited less than 5% of their original territory.

There were no reported sightings of them for a number of years, although captive animals were being bred for conservation purposes, until a 2009 expedition found signs of their scat and feeding areas.

They estimated the population to be a few hundred, located on the island of Negros. The pressure on their survival is primarily from loss of habit, as usual. In their case, predation by humans is also significant. Because local people hunt them for food in times of famine and/or political turmoil, their existence is far from assured - the animals being raised in zoos will not be released into the wild until there is somewhere safe for them.

Answer: Cebu

If you read the fine print on the stamp, you would have seen that the binomial name of these birds is Copsychus cebuensis, or Copsychus of Cebu. Shamas (the genus Copsychus), also known as magpie-robins, are found primarily in the south of Asia and on islands in the Indian and Pacific oceans. Five distinct species are found in the Philippines, in moist lowland forests and shrubland with dense undergrowth.

Unfortunately, these are becoming rarer, and shamas face increasing pressure for survival. On Cebu, there is less than 15 sq km that is suitable, and the population is thought to be under 1,000 in number.

The image on the stamp is of a male, with a typical black shiny plumage; females are grey, with a reddish-brown underside.

Answer: Face

The purpose of these growths is not clear - at least in part because the animals are so rare that there has been little chance to observe them in their natural habitat, and see how they behave. One suggestion is that they offer some protection against being gouged by an opponent's tusks during a fight. Local names for the pigs concentrate on other features, and translate into English as wild pig, dark pig, or forest pig, among other appellations.

The Visayan warty pig is known to have inhabited six islands in the Philippines, but the subspecies on Cebu is extinct, and those on Masbate, Guimaras, and Siquijor are thought to be possibly extinct as there have been no sightings for a long time.

The populations on Panay and Negros are hanging in there, at least for now.

Answer: Philippine eagle

When the Philippine eagle was first collected by John Whitehead (or, more precisely, one of his servants) in 1896, it was sent for classification along with information that it was known to eat monkeys. This led William Robert Ogilvie-Grant to describe it with the genus Pithecophaga (monkey-eating); the species name was in honour of Whitehead's father.

It later became clear that this apex predator eats a wide range of animals, and the preferred designation is now Philippines eagle rather than monkey-eating eagle, but the genus name remains unchanged They are one of the largest living eagles in terms of length and wing size, and not far from the top in terms of weight.

They are the national bird of the Philippines, so stern penalties apply to those whose actions harm them. Nevertheless, their conservation status is critically endangered.

Answer: Fresh

The Philippine crocodile was originally considered a subspecies of the New Guinea crocodile, but was allocated the status of a separate species in 1989. They play a significant role in controlling the fish population of freshwater areas where they are found. First, they tend to eat sick fish, removing them from the population of fish that will be collected for human consumption. Second, they keep the various species in balance by eating more of any species that becomes over-dominant. Third, their droppings provide essential nutrients for the fish. (Of course, if you are the fish being eaten, this may not all seem that positive.) They used to be found on a number of islands, but have been eliminated on many of them, and are currently only found on Luzon and Polillo islands.

A significant cause of this is hunting by people who consider them dangerous - but they are actually not maneaters, and will rarely attack humans.

Answer: Elongated tail feathers with an enlarged tip

Hence their common names, Sulu racquet-tail (based on its location on the island of Tawi-Tawi, part of the Sulu archipelago) and blue-winged racket-tail (despite the fact that their blue plumage appears on their face and tail feathers, not their wings). All members of the racket-tail genus have two extremely long bare-shafted tail feathers with a circular enlargement at the end - somewhat resembling a tennis (or squash) racket (or racquet, depending on where you live).

It is considered one of the most endangered species of parrot in the world, both because of habitat loss and because of its popularity as a caged bird - and its natural friendly attitude to humans makes it easy to trap!