The Philippines is not blessed with lions, tigers and other big cats that we see on television but we have our own and it needs protection.
The Visayan Leopard Cat (Prionailurus bengalensis rabori), locally known as “Maral”, is one of the 2 wild cats that are endemic to the Philippines. The other one is the Palawan Leopard Cat.
They can be found in the forests of Panay and Negros. It is probably extinct in Masbate and Cebu.
I really wanted to take a photograph of a Maral in the wild but I learned from Sir Dino Gutierrez of Talarak Foundation that it is very hard to photograph a leopard cat in the wild.
They monitor their movements using camera traps. Since I don’t have the luxury of time to camp out in the wilderness to look for a Maral, I went to Negros Forest Park to see this magnificent creature up close.
They have several rescued leopard cats at the park. Visayan Leopard Cats are currently endangered due to Habitat Loss and because of continuing deforestation and illegal logging, their population is declining rapidly.
Let’s act now and save the remaining forests of Negros and Panay before it’s too late. So that our future generations would still be able see them in the wild and not just museum pieces.
Source: Floyd P Bermejo, Filipino Nature Photographer