Rare Negros hog, deer caught in even rarer photos

The Visayan Spotted Deer has been found. British scientists photograph the endangered mammal, along with the Warty Pig, for the first time in its natural habitat.

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InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5

For the first time, two of the country's rarest and most endangered mammals have been photographed in their natural habitat in Negros Island.

British scientists, reporting on the results of a two-week expedition to the North Negros National Park, had set up camera traps to take pictures of the elusive Visayan Warty Pig and Spotted Deer. 

According to a report by The Telegraph, Dr. Neil D'Cruze and his team "trekked elevations over 1,500 meters to set up the traps" - cameras rigged to snap pictures once creatures step into view.

Expedition leader James Sawyer broke his foot on the "very tough" terrain, telling BBC Nature, "the Philippine rainforest is close, dense, and everything is very spiky. You get scratched to pieces and boots get destroyed."

The spotted deer is called such for the white spots on its dark brown pelt.

The team from the UK-based World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) hoped to highlight the area as a "biodiversity hotspot" in order to intensify conservation efforts.

The "very tough" terrain where exhibition leader James Sawyer broke his foot.

Despite the forest being a protected area, local officials said the rare and elusive animals are still being hunted for sport. If this continues, these photos could in time be the only proof that the Visayan Warty Pig and Spotted Deer ever existed. 

Not Pumbaa, but the Warty Pig.

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