MINDORO BLEEDING-HEART

Mindoro Bleeding

Heart• Kulo-kulo/Manatad/La-do• Scientific Name: Gallicolumba platenae• 27cm in length • ARKIVE.org says that this medium-sized

ground dove is named for the small, yet distinct, orange patch on its whitish breast, although this looks less like a ‘bleeding-heart’ than in other Gallicolumba species, which have a blood-red patch

Fig Tree, a fruit-bearing tree, is where it is mostly seen feeding

itself and on the forest floor

DIET

Bird Life International adds that the Mindoro Bleeding-heart, predominantly a terrestrial pigeon inhabits in closed-canopy primary and secondary lowland forest, preferring dry forest substrates on gentle slopes up to 750 m. It is not known whether or not it undertakes altitudinal, seasonal or nomadic movements

NICHE

• Lays only two eggs per reproduction and dominantly breeds during May.

• According to ecop.pbworks all pigeons in general follow similar courtship patterns.

• Male and female share incubating duties for about 21/2 weeks after which the chicks are hatched nearly naked. These birds are "altricial," meaning the chicks are almost helpless after hatching and require attentive parental care and feeding.

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The parents keep the chicks as warm as possible, until, after about 10 days, their feathers begin to grow in. In less than a month, the young pigeons can fend for themselves although they stay on in the nest a little longer.

REPRODUCTION

• Predators: eagles, hawks, owls, vultures, snakes, monkeys, civet cats, crocodiles, humans

• Forests at Siburan and Mt Iglit-Baco National Park are threatened by encroaching shifting cultivation and occasional selective logging

• Hunting (using snares) for food and collection for the pet trade

• Mangyan-Batangan indigenous people set hundreds of ground traps

THREATS & DANGER

• Takes its name from an unusual mid-breast patch of blood red feathers that look like a bloody wound

• Unlike many birds, the males and females of this species look the same

• Plays a role in forest regeneration through the dispersal of seeds of the trees

• When they forage for food, they resemble a chicken; thus their scientific name: Galli and Columba means dove

UNIQUE QUALITIES

• Has a small, severely fragmented population which is undergoing a continuing decline due to lowland forest destruction, hunting and trade

• Endemic to the island Mindoro, Philippines

• Confirmed records from only 4 sites since 1980 (Puerto Galera, MUFRC Experimental Forest, Siburan and Mt Iglit-Baco National Park)STATUS

• in an open area of the forest floor under closed canopy forest surrounded with limestone outcrops and boulders

• in bamboo thickets with numerous rattans, bounded by primary closed canopy forest

• close to a pool in a dry riverbed in closed-canopy forest on flatter, less rocky ground

• in shady, level forest with minimal rocky outcrops

• secondary lowland growth forest with varying degrees of canopy gap and human disturbance

HABITAT

• The Mindoro bleeding heart is endangered because of the destruction of its habitat, the lowland forest. Only 120 square kilometers of forest remained in Mindoro in the year 1988 and is expected to be completely gone in a span of a few years.

• Selective logging and rattan collection are just some factors that affect the forests in Siburan and Mount Iglit-Baco National Park.

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• In Mount Siburan, slash-and-burn farming is said to be the greatest cause. While on the other parts of Mindoro, hunting with snares is a great factor especially when it comes to the dry season and during the wet season, traps are often used.

CHANGES IN THE ECOSYSTEM

• Use the influence of social media as a platform for our advocacy

• Make people more aware of the current status of the Mindoro Bleeding-heart bird

• Spread word about the critical status of this organism through Facebook or Instagram (e.g. typographical posters and/or images)

PLANS OF ACTION

• Through social media, encourage people to sign petitions

• Will be directed to the government to strictly implement laws with regard to the conservation of the Philippine biodiversity and/or make new laws to preserve the Mindoro Bleeding-heart

• Use websites like iPetitions.com or Change.org

• Easy, practical and free

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• Involve ourselves in organization that help preserve the Mindoro Bleeding-heart

• Organization like Haribon help the preservation of this organism

• Volunteer in organization like Haribon and/or donate to these types of organizations through fundraisers

• Problems that might be encountered • Low audience reception and/or

participation • First two proposed plans might not

succeed • The third proposal, however, is not

reliant on external factors, but rather is a self-initiative that must come from oneself

PLANS OF ACTION

• The Mindoro Bleeding-heart is not only endangered, but rather it is already critically endangered • Biodiversity in the Philippines have been slowly diminishing, preserving this organism would also mean preserving our ecology • It is time that we change our ways • However, as can be seen most of the plans are designed to not be reliant on funding alone

WHY FUND SUCH EFFORTS?

• May lead to an imbalance to our ecosystem, which may affect our way of living

• Negative effects in production of our crops, as well as the quality of crops that we may plant

• Will bring tremendous effects that will be hard to remedy

• Decline in the crops we consume, as well as the nutrients of the meat and fish we eat.

LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY