Fascinating Mammals of the Philippines Quiz

Answer: flying foxes

It is estimated that over 90 species of bats (possibly many more) live in the Philippines. A large number of them belong to the family Pteropodidae - the Old World fruit bats, also known as flying foxes (or flying dogs) because of the resemblance of their heads to those of canids. The genera Pteropus and Acerodon include the largest species of all, the so-called "megabats", of which Acerodon jubatus, the giant golden-crowned flying fox, is the largest. The wingspan of this huge bat, which can weigh up to 1.4 kg (3.1 lb), can reach 1.7 m (5.6 ft) - the height of an average-sized human being. Like all flying foxes, the golden-crowned flying fox (which is endemic to the Philippines, and found on most of the islands) is frugivorous, various fig species being by far its favourite food. While flying foxes are unable to echolocate (unlike other bat species), they compensate for this lack with particularly keen senses of smell and sight. Unfortunately, golden-crowned flying foxes are listed by IUCN as Endangered (2016) because of habitat loss (deforestation) and being hunted for bushmeat.

False vampires (family Megadermatidae) and horseshoe bats (family Rhinolophidae) are also found in the Philippines. Sugar gliders, on the other hand, are not bats, but marsupials related to the opossum; they live in Australia, New Guinea and parts of Indonesia.

Answer: colugo

The order Dermoptera (meaning "skin wing" in Greek) is named after the flaps of skin that allow these animals (close relatives of primates, but not true lemurs) to glide very effectively from tree to tree. There are only two species of colugo, the Malayan (Galeopterus variegatus) and the Philippine (Cynocephalus volans). The latter, known locally as "kagwang", is only found in the southern part of the archipelago, where it lives in forested areas. The Philippine colugo is a small animal, weighing under 2 kg (4.4 lb), with excellent eyesight and brownish-gray fur that allows it to camouflage among tree trunks and branches. This nocturnal creature eats mainly leaves, flowers, fruits and shoots, with the occasional insect. Like many other endemic Philippine mammals, the colugo is threatened by habitat loss, though IUCN lists it as Least Concern (2008).

None of the other mammals mentioned as wrong answers live in the Philippines. The colobus is an African monkey, the caracal a feline from Asia and Africa, and the capybara (from South America) is the largest member of the rodent family.

Answer: its bite is toxic

At least eight species of slow loris (Nycticebus sp.) are native to Southeast Asia: though closely related to the lemurs of Madagascar, they are not true lemurs. The Philippines's own endemic species, Nycticebus menagensis, is found only in the Sulu Archipelago, which lies between Borneo and the island of Mindanao. Slow lorises are nocturnal (as their generic name - meaning "night monkey" - implies) and arboreal, with large eyes and very small ears; they live in forests, and are omnivorous. The only known venomous primates, these animals secrete a toxic fluid from their brachial and salivary glands; their bite can cause serious anaphylactic shock, as well as tissue damage. This peculiarity is useful to lorises when fighting for food, mates or territory.

The Philippine slow loris is listed by IUCN as Vulnerable (2008), being threatened not only by habitat loss and hunting, but also by the exotic pet trade. The name "loris" comes from the Dutch "loeris", meaning "simpleton" or "clown".

Answer: macaque

The Philippine long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis philippensis) is a subspecies of the crab-eating macaque (Macaca fascicularis), a monkey native to Southeast Asia and widespread in the region. This medium-sized primate is found in most forested areas of the archipelago; as the species' common name implies, its tail is very long (50-60 cm/1.6-2 ft), often exceeding the length of the animal's body. Long-tailed macaques live in forests and woodlands, with a preference for coastal mangrove forests. In spite of the "crab-eating" attribute, these macaques are omnivorous, and most of their diet is plant-based. The Philippine long-tailed macaque's numbers are decreasing, and the subspecies is listed by IUCN as Near-Threatened (2008): as well as being hunted as food, these monkeys are used extensively for medical experiments.

A small population of Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus) lives on the Rock of Gibraltar, which is part of the European continent. The three incorrect answers are also Old World monkeys (family Cercopithecidae).

Answer: pangolin

The eight species of pangolin found in Asia and Africa comprise the family Manidae of the order Pholidota ("horny scale" in Greek); the four Asian species all belong to the genus Manis. The Philippine pangolin (Manis culionensis), locally known as "balintong", is endemic to the province of Palawan, a group of islands whose flora and fauna are closer to those of Borneo (which lies to the southwest of them) than to the rest of the Philippine archipelago. Like all pangolins, this animal is covered by overlapping keratin scales, and can curl into a ball when threatened; it has a prehensile tail and a very long, sticky tongue used to harvest ants and other insects from mounds and logs. The Philippine pangolin is nocturnal and arboreal, though it spends part of the time foraging on the ground. Sadly, as it is hunted for its meat, skin, scales and organs, it is listed by IUCN as Critically Endangered (2019).

Because of these animals' popularity on the black market, in the early months of 2020 it was suggested they were one of the primary vectors of transmission of the SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. Though there is not yet any definitive proof of this, the mere suspicion may have led to the mass slaughter of pangolins in China and other parts of Asia.

All three wrong answers are ant-eating mammals. None of them, however, is found in Asia: the echidna lives in Australia and New Guinea, the armadillo in the Americas, and the aardvark in Africa.

Answer: viverrids

Compared to other Southeast Asian countries, the Philippines have very few native mammals of the order Carnivora. In fact, the archipelago's foremost apex predators are non-mammals such as the saltwater crocodile, the reticulated python and the Philippine eagle. The binturong (Arctitis binturong) is a native of Southeast Asia, where it lives mostly in forests of tall trees. Its generic name means "bear-weasel", but - like its common name of "bearcat" - this is a misnomer, because the binturong is a member of the Viverridae, a family of small to medium-sized mammals that, though classified in the order Carnivora, are generally omnivorous. This animal is covered in long, coarse black fur, and has a prehensile tail; it is arboreal, and active both during the day and at night. Like most viverrids, both sexes have scent glands located in the genital area. As is the case with many animals that inhabit forested areas, the binturong is threatened by habitat loss, and listed by IUCN as Vulnerable (2016) because of its declining numbers. In the Philippines it is found only on the island of Palawan.

The name mustelids refers to the weasel family of carnivorous mammals, procyonids to raccoons and their relatives, and canids to dogs, wolves and foxes.

Answer: leopard cat

Unlike neighbouring Indonesia, the Philippines have no tigers or other big cat species. Though a bone fragment identified as belonging to a tiger was found on Palawan, there is no conclusive evidence that tigers ever inhabited the archipelago. At present, the only feline species found in the Philippines is the Sunda leopard cat (Prionailurus javanensis), with two subspecies found on Palawan and the Visayan Islands. The Sunda leopard cat is considered a distinct species from the leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) found on the mainland. This feline is more or less the same size as a domestic cat, or slightly smaller, with long legs and rounded ears; the common name "leopard cat" refers to its spotted fur, which provides effective camouflage in the forests where it lives. The Visayan leopard cat (Prionailurus javanicus rabori) is listed by IUCN as Vulnerable (2008) because of hunting and habitat loss.

All the incorrect answers are wild cat species (Felinae). The jungle cat and the marbled cat also live in Asia, while the sand cat is also found in parts of northern Africa.

Answer: shrews

As the name "Soricidae" implies (from the Latin "sorex, soricis", meaning "mouse"), shrews look very much like mice, though with a longer nose. However, these animals are related to hedgehogs and moles, which like them are classified in the order Eulipotyphla (formerly known as Insectivora). Unlike rodents, shrews have sharp, spiky teeth that wear down through their life; some species of shrews also have a venomous bite - a feature that may have influenced the use of the word "shrew" to refer to a spiteful, bad-tempered woman. Like the mice they resemble, shrews are very prolific, and generally omnivorous.

A number of islands in the Philippine archipelago have their own endemic species of shrew, belonging to the genus Crocidura; the one shown in the photo is the Mindanao shrew (Crocidura beatus), a forest dweller that is still relatively abundant in its range (listed by IUCN as Least Concern in 2008). None of the other endemic Crocidura species appear to be endangered, though they are all threatened by the massive deforestation going on in the Philippines. The most abundant member of the shrew family, however, is the Asian house shrew (Suncus murinus), which was introduced to the islands from mainland Asia and has become an invasive species.

The stoat (or ermine) is a member of the weasel family that lives in much colder regions; the shrike is a bird, and the skink a lizard.

Answer: warty

Though the pig in the photo is definitely hairy, and very probably toothy as well (though not really long-legged), its common name is Visayan warty pig (Sus cebifrons), a species endemic to the Visayan Islands in central Philippines. The three pairs of "warts" (skin-covered, bony projections) on its snout are clearly visible in the picture. Another distinctive feature of this species is the males' crest of stiff, bristly hair, which has been likened to a mohawk hairstyle. A denizen of forested areas, the Visayan warty pig eats a mostly vegetarian diet: in recent years, because of the near-total deforestation of its habitat, it has become somewhat of a pest to farmers because of its tendency to eat cultivated crops. The species is listed by IUCN as Critically Endangered (2008), as only a few hundred specimens remain; the pigs, however, seem to breed well in captivity, and they may be reintroduced in the wild in the near future. Interestingly, in 2019 a Visayan warty pig in Paris' Jardin des Plantes was recorded while digging a hole with a stick held in its mouth - the very first recorded case of a pig using a tool.

Two other species of warty pig - the Philippine warty pig (Sus philippensis) and the endangered Oliver's warty pig (Sus oliveri), both classified by IUCN as Vulnerable (2008) - are also found in the archipelago.

Pumbaa, one of the characters in the Disney animated film "The Lion King", is a warthog, a member of the genus Phacochoerus, also part of the family Suidae.

Answer: tamaraw

The tamaraw (Bubalus mindorensis) is the only bovine endemic to the Philippines, where it has became so rare that it is almost impossible to find photos of it. It is now critically endangered (IUCN 2013) because of habitat loss, and, in spite of various laws issued to protect it, the species is still very vulnerable. This solitary animal, with a compact, dark-coloured body and short, V-shaped horns, lives in forests and grassy plains on the island of Mindoro. The tamaraw is a national symbol of the Philippines, and a number of sports teams - as well as a utility vehicle manufactured by Toyota - are named after it.

The carabao ("kalabaw" in Tagalog), on the other hand, is a breed of domestic, swamp-type water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) native to the Philippines, where it has existed at least since the 6th century BC. It is a heavyset animal with large, sickle-shaped horns, well adapted to the archipelago's hot, humid climate; it especially likes to wallow in mud to cool down during the heat of the day. Carabaos are found all over the Philippines, where they are bred for milk and meat, or used by farmers as draught animals. Their large horns can be trimmed as they grow, and various objects are made from them. Carabaos are also said to symbolize the hard-working character of the Filipino people. The photo shows a female carabao with her calf.

The tamarin is a New World monkey; the tarsier a primate (a species of which can be found in the Philippines) related to lemurs, and the takin an Asian wild goat.