SAVING THE VISAYAN LEOPARD CAT

 SAVING THE VISAYAN LEOPARD CAT

What’s bigger than your house cat but smaller than a tiger? What carries the name “leopard” yet is no leopard at all? Meet the elusive, beautifully spotted forest feline that rightly deserves front-page attention: the Visayan leopard cat (scientific name Prionailurus bengalensis rabori).

Endemic to the Philippines, it can only be found—if one is lucky and forests remain—on the islands of Panay and Negros. It has close relatives in Borneo and Sumatra, yet this Visayan version is uniquely ours.

The good news is: we have a native wild cat that’s part of our natural heritage.
 The bad news is: it’s under threat—all but missing the data we need to save it properly.

What do we actually know?

This cat is about the size of a larger house cat: agile, slender, alert. Its coat is dark ochre to buffy fawn, adorned with large dark spots. Its skull is narrower than its Sumatran or Bornean cousins.  It lives mostly in remaining forest fragments on Panay and Negros, and even in sugar-cane fields where forest has been cleared. 

But here’s a wrench: we do not have reliable, recent population numbers for how many individuals remain in the wild or captivity. One source says the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listing lacks a total population size.  Another indicates it was listed as “vulnerable” in 2008, with a decreasing trend. Without those baseline numbers, how can we define clear conservation targets, how many breeding pairs we need, or whether a captive breeding programme can even start safely?

We have questions—and we should.

  • Do we have enough breeding pairs in the wild (or in captivity) to maintain genetic health?

  • Are local conservation units equipped and resourced to track it properly?

  • Have we set clear targets for new births, territory restoration, population growth?

  • Should oversight be only by the Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) under Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), or should there be stronger linkage with higher-education institutions (for research) and private sector or NGOs (for funding, public awareness)?

  • Which local government units (LGUs), NGOs, private entities should be mobilised and empowered?

What’s happening now?

There are conservation efforts:

  • Rescues: Juvenile cats have been rescued in places like Talisay City, Negros Occidental.

  • Protected areas and captive-conservation: For example, the Mariit Wildlife and Conservation Park in Lambunao, Iloilo (Panay) houses five Visayan leopard cats.

  • Private recognition: A resort (KGM Resorts) has highlighted the species in its blog, indicating private-sector interest.

These are commendable. But we must ask: is that enough? Are resources sufficient? Are efforts coordinated across LGUs, DENR/BMB, academia, private sector and community stakeholders?

What can be done — suggestions for action

  1. Establish a baseline survey: Funded by DENR/BMB with university partners (e.g., University of the Philippines College of Veterinary Medicine, or local veterinary/biology faculties) to determine current numbers, sex/age structure, territory size, threats.

  2. Develop clear conservation targets: For example, “breed X individuals within Y years”, “restore Z hectares of forest in Panay/Negros”, “establish corridors between remnant patches”. Without targets, we cannot measure success.

  3. Mobilise stakeholder network:

    • LGUs in Panay and Negros: support habitat protection, local awareness campaigns.

    • Private entities like KGM Resorts: recognition + financial support—for example adopt-a-pair programmes, corporate-sponsored habitat restoration.

    • NGOs: empower local biodiversity groups to conduct monitoring, community outreach.

    • Academia and DOST (Department of Science and Technology): studies on genetics, breeding‐behaviour, veterinary needs, habitat modelling.

  4. Integrated awareness campaign:

    • Could the Philippine Postal Corporation feature the Visayan leopard cat on a stamp? Perhaps the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas could use its image on banknotes or commemorative coins. This helps build national pride and awareness.

    • School curricula: include modules on endemic species like this cat, its role in ecosystems (rodent control, indicator species) and why its survival matters.

  5. Community-based conservation and sustainable livelihoods: Involve barangays living near forest fragments. For example, ecotourism is tied to forest trails with real time watching, native tree nurseries, rodent-control services (since the cats help farmers naturally). The cats become allies, not pests.

  6. Legal enforcement and habitat protection: Ensure wildlife protection laws (e.g., RA 9147) are enforced; strengthen protected-area management; halt illegal logging and land conversion in key forest patches. For example, on Panay and Negros forest loss has been devastating (90-95% of natural habitat reportedly gone) so habitat restoration is urgent.

My reflections and call to action

It pains me to write this, because the picture is sobering. We have an endemic wild cat, beautiful and ecologically important, and yet its survival is precarious. The lack of concrete data is alarming: how many are left? Can we ensure genetic diversity? Are there enough in captivity to breed? Do we even know where they roam? Without answering these, conservation is a shot in the dark.

This should not be a project only for wildlife specialists. Protecting the Visayan leopard cat should be a whole-of-nation effort: government, private sector, academia, local communities—everyone has a part. Time is ticking.

To the LGUs of Panay and Negros: you are guardians of this cat’s last homes. To the DENR/BMB: you hold the mandate—but do you hold the resources and coordination power? To our universities and DOST: study this cat, design the breeding programme, monitor genetic health, train our conservation workforce. To our private firms and individuals: adopt a pair, restore a forest patch, raise awareness in your networks.

And to all Filipinos: imagine a future where our children and grandchildren know wild Visayan forests—and the maral still prowls there. A future where our endemic cat still plays its natural role—rodent control, ecosystem balance—rather than being just a footnote in extinction reports.

Let’s shine the spotlight on the Visayan leopard cat—not just to save it, but to save its forest home and in so doing, ourselves. Because when we lose a species like this, we lose part of our identity. Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen.

Ramon Ike V. Seneres, www.facebook.com/ike.seneres

iseneres@yahoo.com, senseneres.blogspot.com 

02-25-2026

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