The Philippines consists of over 7,600 islands that are home to an incredible amount of diverse species. Almost half of all the animals in this country are endemic, meaning that they don’t live anywhere else in the world, according to the Convention on Biological Diversity.
“Everywhere you go in the Philippines, you’re going to be surrounded by nature,” said Gab Mejia, photographer for National Geographic. “Each island you travel to will have different species.”
There’s also some bad news. Over 700 of the native species that live in the Philippines are about to be extinct, according to the same source. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, an increase in illegal fishing and poaching has been noticed which only makes it worse.
When you visit the Philippines and decide to explore all the wonderful nature it has to offer, make sure to be respectful toward it. This can be challenging with more people visiting the destination, but there are ways for tourists to see everything they want to see and still respect the natural processes that are happening.