For some reason, my online news readings before I went to sleep last night brought me to crocs in Cancun, Mexico and how the resorts are somewhat hush-hush about these reptiles because these would destroy its tourist appeal. How ironic that Cancun is being marketed as a beach escape when you cannot freely swim even in its shallow waters because it is teeming with saltwater crocs.
That prompted me to go back to researching about my greatest fears in the sea: crocs and sharks.
Crocs used to be found all over the Philippines. Even the creek in my hometown was host to the smaller endemic species before and even after WW2 and they swim towards Laguna Lake and then to Pasig River to Manila Bay. The biggest croc recorded was found in Laguna Lake in the town of Jala-jala.
Jose Rizal, in his novel Noli Me Tangere, wrote about crocs along the banks of Pasig River.
They’re now hunted down to extinction in this area or degradation of habitats also caused the disappearance of these reptiles.
When I was in Palawan back in 2012 (or was it 2013?), I remember being paranoid about encountering crocs in the shallow waters beside Microtel in Puerto Princesa City. It used to be a mangrove area that was thinned out by developers. The endemic Philippine crocodile and the more aggressive Saltwater crocs lurk in mangroves.
But that didn’t keep me from wading into the waters. But I discovered that Puerto Princesa is the last place in Palawan where you want to hang out because there are hundreds of other better beaches in the province. You can hop to several islands in one day around Honda Bay.
Diving though is not good in Puerto Princesa and nearby islands because Honda Bay has suffered from years of dynamite fishing. It is only now that the corals have started to regenerate.
And to further bolster my fear, the Crocodile Farm has shown me how big saltwater crocs can be—making me more paranoid.
But I learned that the saltwater crocs and the smaller and endemic Philippine croc are normally found in the less inhabited areas of Palawan like Balabac group of islands (nearer Malaysia) or in Mindoro. Both Palawan and Mindoro islands host rare and varied flora and fauna as they have evolved a bit differently from mainland Luzon. My ecologist mom said Palawan was connected to Borneo thus it’s more similar to the group of islands in that part of Malaysia and Indonesia than the rest of the Philippines.
Anyway, back to crocs, the Philippine croc, Crocodylus mindorensis, is named after Mindoro where it is still found today.
Mindoro waters are also shark-infested, they said. Mindoro is just a breath away from Batangas.
But then shark attacks are rare in the Philippines compared to other countries. My sisters and cousin had been surfing in Baler, Aurora before and later they were flabbergasted to learn that there are great white sharks in Aurora.
If not for my fear of these creatures, I could have been more fearless in freediving in Bohol and Palawan. But then my fears are somewhat unfounded because of the facts I stated above. What is more fearsome are the currents or riptides that have killed more divers than sharks. My sister was caught in one and she almost died when she was diving in Australia.
All this walking down the memory lane is making me yearn more for the sea.
