Environmentalists confirm existence of new whale species in PHL

Environmentalists confirmed the existence of the ginkgo-toothed beaked whale (Mesoplodon ginkgodens) in Philippine waters. A report of the Marine Wildlife Watch of the Philippines (MWWP) and Balyena.org said the discovery brings the number of cetaceans (creatures such as whales and dolphins) occurring in the Philippines to 27. The Mesoplodon ginkgodens was first found alive in the shallow shores of Sitio Matang-ib, Cawag, Subic, Zambales on April 20 last year. The gingko-toothed beaked whale, which unfortunately died the next day was misidentified as a Blainville’s beaked whale by Ocean Adventure, a captive dolphin entertainment facility. According to Ocean Adventure consultant Dr. Lem Aragones, the whale was identified as Blainville's beaked whale because that is the more familiar species. "Wala ng original na species so ang nakikita natin dito, is what we have," he told GMA News. Aragones clarified that Ocean Adventure had not officially called it a Blainville's beaked whale, nor had the finding been published in any scientific journal. Thanks to the efforts of locals, FARMC and DENR-CENRO this stranding incident was documented and photos of the whale spread on the internet. Local and foreign marine mammal researchers took notice, and this eventually led to the correct species identification. "Since they are deep species, we usually don't see them. They're quite rare," said MWWP director AA Yaptinchay told GMA News. The report said photographs of the animal were examined by Wojtek Bachara, Dr. John Wang and Dr. Tadasu Yamada, experienced beaked whale scientists from abroad who declared that the whale depicted in the photos is unmistakably a ginkgo-toothed beaked whale. There are 21 species of beaked whales known worldwide, and only two other species of beaked whales known to occur in the Philippines apart from the gingko-toothed beaked whale, which is one of the least known species of cetaceans in the world. Generally they are deep divers and spend little time near the surface, one of the reasons why few have been observed in the wild. This species was named as such because the Japanese scientists who first described it noted that the teeth of the mature males were shaped like a gingko leaf. "Usually it would be easy to determine what species from how they look," Yaptinchay said. While the finding's ecological significance is difficult to determine, it shows that there is much that has yet to be done in terms of getting information. "The finding is significant because it shows us there's really more under the sea. We haven't really looked at much in terms of knowing the fauna of the Philippines - just a little over 30 percent has been surveyed," said Yaptinchay. The gingko-toothed whale has long been suspected to occur in the Philippines, first by Steve Leatherwood in 1992 and by Lory Tan in 1997 based on the known distribution of the species in tropical areas and warm temperate waters of the Indo-Pacific, including Indonesia, Taiwan and Japan. Reports of strandings of not just whales and dolphins but other large marine animals such as sea turtles and whales sharks have been increasing around the country for the past 3-4 years. The MWWP said this is mainly because of the developing communication portals readily available to people. "Usually the government has funding, dito sa Philippines wala. The Department of Agriculture doesn't really have a program to research and survey. It's mostly just academics and NGO's who raise their own funds," said Yaptinchay, adding that there are only a few cetacean researchers. "The ones doing actual surveys and research or involved in dolphins and whales, probably just around 20," he said. There are about four more other species of cetaceans not yet in the Philippine list suspected to occur in our waters. It is hoped that increased reporting of sightings and strandings particularly through internet and social networks would help in research and contribute to the existing knowledge on cetaceans in the Philippines. "This should inspire more people to keep their eyes open, their cameras clicking and share their stories online," said the statement from MWWP and Balyena.org. – VVP, GMA News