Justification

The lack of records for this species for over a century suggests that it must have a tiny population, if it survives at all. Continuing forest loss indicates that it is almost certainly declining. Indeed, it is predicted to undergo an extremely rapid population reduction in the immediate future based on this loss. These factors together qualify it as Critical.

Threats

In 1994, remaining primary forest on Tawitawi was being rapidly cleared and the areas of forest left were highly degraded and recently logged. In 1996, there were plans to replace even these with oil-palm plantations. Logging of the few remaining tracts, now confined to rugged, mountainous areas, is likely to be followed by uncontrolled settlement and conversion to agriculture. Small-scale logging operations occur on Tandubatu, Dundangan and Baliungan. Hunting and trapping may have caused a substantial decrease during martial law in the 1970s.

Conservation

Military activity and insurgency continue to present a serious obstacle to general conservation activity in the Sulus. There are no protected areas in the archipelago. A proposal exists to provide conservation funding for the Tawitawi/Sulu Coastal Area, although neither the outcome nor the likely benefits to the species are known. In 1997, a public awareness campaign focusing on the conservation of terrestrial biodiversity on Tawitawi was initiated. In the mid-1990s, the species featured on a bilingual environmental awareness poster in the in the Philippinesseries.

Targets

*Conduct intensive surveys of all remaining forest tracts on Tawitawi and nearby islands to establish whether the species is still extant. *Urgently propose any sites found to support the species for strict protection. *Incorporate protective measures relevant to this species within conservation funding proposals for the Tawitawi/Sulu Coastal Area, as and where appropriate.