Subic has transformed since the bases left more than a decade ago. Gone are the nocturnal predators that stalked the watering holes in Olongapo, replaced by bona fide creatures in their natural habitat, a joy to behold to animalphiles young and old. Snakey, I and the Animalandia team trekked to this prime eco-tourist destination.
Subic’s preserved forests is still home to the lesser bamboo bat,
Tylongcleris pachypus only four inches, famous for roosting inside "
bumbong" or bamboo hollow. One bamboo hollow can house as much as 50 of these bats! JEST camp abounds with this little critter, once eaten by native aetas and GIs in survival training. The natives used to make
adobo of them and it takes hundreds to satisfy a family! This culinary practice has long been prohibited.
The resident guide, a jolly aeta named
Mang Graciano was more than willing to show us the tiny flying mammal’s lair. I was lucky enough to handle one to pleasantly find out that they are docile although stressing them will make them bite! Our enthusiastic pator said their teeth will not penetrate skin so Snakey and I gamely handled one to discover too late that bat incisors are harmless to thick jungle-skinned
Mang Graciano but will draw blood from ordinary mortals like Snakey and myself! Ouch.
I have to swear that the Philippine
macaque native to the former base have increased in numbers and can be seen everywhere, even by the roadside, any time of the day! Visitors are warned though that monkeys are territorial animals and attack by tribe, they are very protective of their turf (just like us
politicos) It is not advised especially for children to go near them as they have a propensity to attack! Enjoy their human-like antics from a distance as they enjoy our monkey-like behaviour from their comfortable space.
We featured a few weeks back the gigantic walking stick found in Subic’s virgin forests. Also plentiful are leaf insects and various varieties of butterflies one can see in Butterfly Garden. Quite amazing is the Leaf insect,
Phyllium giganteum, hard to spot when they’re sitting in a tree. They look just like the guava leaves they eat, right down to the browned "leaf" edges. Such a clever disguise helps these animals hide from predators. Leaf insects even sway back and forth when the wind blows, just like real leaves! Butterfly Garden owned by former QC mayor Jun Simon and his French partner abound with these. A must-see for budding entomologists.
Big cats are
not personal pets even if you are
Manong Chavit. They can hurt you big-time even at play! It can be irritating having a small
pusakal playfully biting your heels; it can be deadly with a 300-pound juvenile tiger delivering a "harmless" play bite. Tigers are best viewed in zoos. Zoobic safari is an ideal destination to see them up close and personal. One goes through a trail in the comfy of a well-protected, screen mesh-enclosed jeep where you can see the magnificent felines inches from your nose! Snakey and I would like to thank Robert Yupangco for his graciousness.
A must-see is Ocean Adventure where we got close and personal to a false killer whale or
Pseudorca crassidens. Tame as Labrador Retrievers, these animals are truly amazing! Seeing them doing aerobatic tricks and being able to get close is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Snakey and myself are quite at home with touching vicious reptiles and fierce mammals and creepy crawly stinging insects (Snakey has a phobia of flying
ipis though). But feeling the friendly pseudorca’s rubbery skin was trippy, almost like touching a body glove wetsuit! The
Pseudorca native to all warm oceans of the world are very rare and are slaughtered in the hundreds by the Japanese not for food or blubber but because they are considered pests for the poor marine mammal’s preference for
Hamachi or yellow tail tuna, premium fish in Japanese restos. (
Aray-shai mase!!) Our close encounter with the
Pseudorca was the highlight of team Animalandia’s stay in Subic.
The Philippines, with its diverse fauna, is a magical place to visit and explore. Right values have to be instilled in the youth and Subic is the perfect petrodish to cultivate the germ in their young minds. (The adults are frustrating, Snakey quips!)
Adiosss!
E-mail us at kuyakim@ hotmail.com or text 0918-2010405 for questions. Junk mail will be returned to sender with a Naja naja philippinensis (Philippine cobra).
