Manila: The recent eruption of the Taal Volcano in the Philippines forced thousands of wild animals to flee from their natural habitat, and authorities are scrambling to account for them.
According to secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Benny Antiporda, animals within the Taal Volcano Protected Landscape (TVPL) were forced to flee to communities nearby after the country’s second most active volcano spewed lava and ejected ash columns last week.
“We are appealing to the public to rescue and turn over to the DENR any wildlife species within the vicinity of Taal Volcano to ensure their safety,” Antiporda said.
He issued the appeal after he received a rufous hornbill from Flor Locson, a resident of Bacoor City in Cavite province.
Bacoor City is located some 90 kilometres away from the TVPL and Antiporda suspected that the birds were among the wildlife species that fled the protected area in Taal when the volcano erupted last week.
Rufous hornbill (Buceros hydrocorax), locally known as “kalaw,” is a large species of hornbill found only in the Philippines. Its species is listed in the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature as vulnerable species.
The TVPL is home to dozens of species of local wildlife. Given the great number of wild and exotic animals that had fled the volcanic eruption, Antiporda said they need all the help they can get.
“We need the help of the Filipino people to save the wildlife species near the Taal volcano vicinity,” he said while reminding people “not to keep the endangered species as pets or eat them in case of food shortage as it is against the law.”
Meanwhile, DENR Assistant Secretary and concurrent Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) Director Ricardo Calderon, said that aside from wildlife species, the BMB also helps in rescuing the companion and domesticated animals that were in Taal during the eruption.
The eruption of Taal, located more than 100 kilometres south of the capital, Manila, had triggered a mass evacuation with residents forced to abandon their livestock for fear of their lives.
Taal erupted last Sunday, January 12 after months of increasing volcanic activity.
Although Taal is an active volcano, government had allowed the presence of human settlements and animals such as horses, livestock and domesticated animals like cats and dogs in the volcanic island. And now authorities have their hands full in rescuing these.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said 77,438 people were affected by the eruption in the nearby provinces of Batangas, Laguna, and Cavite, of which a total of 66,262 persons, or 15,047 families, are displaced and have sought temporary shelter in 283 evacuation centres.
