Philippine Deforestation

Arrival on Mount Isarog

© 2002 (Photograph by L. Heaney)

Cool temperatures and high rainfall on Mount Isarog encourage the growth of moss, ferns, and orchids virtually everywhere in the mossy rain forest.

Its whiskers quivering and sweeping back and forth, the little animal was one of the oddest creatures I had ever seen. With long, narrow hind feet, hefty haunches, and small but stout forelimbs and claws, it looked a bit like a tiny kangaroo. But the small size, silvery fur, and long, delicately tapering snout tipped with tiny teeth marked it as something utterly unlike a kangaroo, or anything else. Danny, one of the young subsistence farmers we had hired to help us with trapping and camp work, had just brought it into camp, the broad grin on his face instantly showing that he thought he had a prize for us. He was unquestionably right.

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