Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My wife is talking about planning a trip to the philippines - does anyone know of any good books about reptiles there?

I know where the Islands are...and then my knowledge ends. I would even like to hear where people stayed/hiked/snorkeled. I saw a list of reptiles for the area online, but I don't even know if one island is more wild than another.

thanks,

Jake

What month are you going the Philippines. I'm going there in December. I have yet to find any good information about the herps of that country.

It would either be in the summer or December - my wife and I both work in education. We haven't even gone that far in the planning though. My guess is the summer of 2007.

Jake, a lot of the Philippine landmass has been badly exploited (not unusual in many tropical areas). I can remember seeing vast areas in Luzon that were practically devoid of trees.
It's not the safest place to go rambling about looking for herps! I wouldn't venture into the wilds of the PI without someone who knew the particular area well. You can certainly find some comfortable, safe resort areas though.
Shane

"not safe" because of people or animals?

It popularly known in the philippines to stay away from Mindanao (southern Philippines) due to the Muslims. They will take your head off or hold you for ransom, making your family send money in order to buy your life.

It popularly known in the philippines to stay away from Mindanao (southern Philippines) due to the Muslims. They will take your head off or hold you for ransom, making your family send money in order to buy your life.

There is nothing about being a follower of Islam that inspires people to commit these acts any more than being Catholic inspires one to blow up buildings in London. Catholoc IRA terrorists blew up buildings in London, Islamic terrorists commit similar atrocities in other areas.

I, of course, wouldn't travel to Mindanao or some of the other smaller islands of the southern Phillipines because of the civil unrest, a lack of security, and threats against western tourists. It has very little to do with the fact that there are more Muslims in the area.
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, TX

O.K. that’s fair, I knew someone would send a defending response. I have never gone to the Philippines and the above post simply transmitted comments from dozens of locals that have personally warned me to be cautious in the Southern Philippines. When I asked why, they respond “the Muslims are dangerous there.” They rebel against the Philippine government and do not welcome tourists. It is popularly known, those tours that have lost their heads in Mindanao were been taken by Muslims because they are proud and boast about their acts. Nonetheless, its common sense and generally goes without saying, but I will say it in this case, not all Philippine Muslims are bad.

Wow. Fun thread! I'll assume that Chris actually knows enough about that region to value his head more than political correctness, though he still has a sense of sarcasm.
I wouldn't be caught alone in the PI, or Indonesia at this time.
Shane

First, there is a pretty good book on the amphibians and reptiles of the Philippines by Angel Alcala, published by the Philippine government, but often available from ZooBooks or Bibliomania.

Second, most of the Philippines is safe to travel. However, going alone presents a myriad of problems. In that case, it is best to stay in one of the resorts on the out islands (e.g. Polillo) and hire a local guide for forays into the jungle.

Third, Indonesia is a BIG country. I agree (as do my Javanese friends)that it is not very safe for Americans to travel around Java (0ne of 30,000 islands!). I have been to Indonesia several times. Flores with Komodo is mostly Christian, and totally peaaceful and welcoming of Americans. Bali is so friendly that it is the subject of violence by the fundamentalists who all hate peace. North Sulawesi is another good spot to see herps, where the locals keep a watch out for any trouble makers from Java.

Well put! There can be problems anywhere you travel. There could even be problems in Southeast United States…I saw that movie “Deliverance.”

Sounds like a good book, and $pricey$ I’ll be keeping my eye out for a copy on the Internet.

I have in-laws in the PI, it's known as fact what he says, there is a population there, and they are doing these terrible acts.

Anyone who goes there should do there homework and be sure they are hooking up with trusted individuals. Let me say that again, be sure you are hooking up with trusted individuals. Lack of judgement there will most likely cost you now matter where you go.

Having spent time there and being married to a filipino for the past 13 years, I can say with certianty that these atrocities are continuing to happen, with ransom being the most common motive. Americans and anyone known to have money are targets.

I would suggest contacting the State Department about what regions to visit and so forth and see what they recommend and why.

HaroldD seems to have some insight on the safer areas to explore in the region. He may be able to offer up some more detailed advice if asked. Again be sure you are hooking up with trusted individuals, and accept no substitutes.

P.S. The monkeys there can be very bold, be careful of them too.

P.S.S. The smog in Manila, and the other larger cities is much worse than it is here, you have no idea how good we actually have it here.

>>"not safe" because of people or animals?

People, but if you're looking at 2007, and want to do some serious herping, you have plenty of time to make connections.
If you're just looking for a relaxing vacation in that part of the world, and want to do some solo herping without much chance of a hassle, I'd recommend Thailand.
Shane

While this topic is going one, I’d like to ask if anyone knows about the Yellow-bellied Sea Snake in that region. That snake is on top of my list of animals to photograph while there in December. I have been told to go to the docks and as the net fishing boats for a snake. They are known to catch them periodically. I told one local girl that I would offer the fisherman that catches a snake fifty bucks reward. But then, she said “no way, that is way too much money and to offer the fisherman five bucks.” Besides asking fisherman, and perhaps finding a stray sea snake while scuba-diving I have little clue to go about assuring a Yellow-bellied Sea Snake find. Anyone have any better procedures to go about and photograph this snake in the Philippines?

Check out http://www.herpaworld.com/ for some onfo and pics of Philippine herps and possible contacts.

Cheers,

WW
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WW Home

Hi Jake

I would start contacting Emerson Sy(hspfounder@yahoo.com) of Herpetologial Society of the Phillipnes(http://groups.yahoo.com/group/herpsocietyphilippines/). He heads a small group of herpetologist, researchers from the University of the Philippines and other countries, and herp hobbyist/lovers and started the society a couple of years ago due to the lack of such organization in PI. He use to reside in Southern California but is currently living in PI. They have been working with the government(DENR) for the protection and education of the masses to benifit the local herp population. There's only a couple of areas that you could probobly go to since there's a lot of devastation and abuse of the natural resources in the country. Partly because of the population density of some areas. Hope this info can get you and others started.

The warning regarding the dangers of traveling is for the most part very true. Frankly there's a lot of poverty in the country and there's a lot of people with nothing to loose. There's also a couple of rebel group organizations that is fighting the government that does target foreigners for ransome to get their organization funded. For the most part do stay away from Mindanao if you can since some areas, although good for herping, is dangerous for foreigners (and even some Filipinos). If you're going around the coutry make sure that you hire someone trusted driver/guide to take you around since sometimes public transportation are targeted by theives. You can usually hire someone for a week or as long as you need them. Also try not to show the "bling-bling" and dress down a bit. If you're a foreigner you're ovious enough as it is. Not all of PI is dangerous and there are alot of resorts you can pick from that is relatively safe. The only work is caution when traveling as with anywhere else in the world. Hope this helps a bit.

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Jonel @ Selective Propagations
www.spsnakes.com