Calauit: giraffes on a Philippine island

An improbable day in the far north of Busuanga, where giraffes and zebras graze in tropical grassland beside endemic Calamian deer and mangrove-lined shores.

Area

Coron & the Calamianes

Start from

Coron town

Distance

about 2–3 hours by road and boat each way

Time needed

1 day

Best season

November – May

Difficulty

Easy

Transport

Van to the north of Busuanga, then a short boat crossing; most people go on an organised tour

Tickets & rules

Park entrance fee and guide fee; tours usually include them

Why go

Nothing quite prepares you for the moment a giraffe lowers its head over a jeepney window on an island in the Philippines. Calauit Game Preserve and Wildlife Sanctuary is one of the strangest places I’ve visited anywhere: open, rolling grassland and scrub on an island off Busuanga’s northern tip, with African animals wandering through it as though they had always lived there.

The visit is usually a ride in an open vehicle with a ranger, who stops beside herds of zebras and lets you feed the giraffes with leaves. It sounds like a zoo, but the space is large and the animals move freely, and between them you meet the real stars of the island, the small, shy Calamian deer, found only in these islands.

The drive itself is part of the pleasure. The road north from Coron passes cashew orchards, rice fields, cattle ranches and tiny villages, the green interior of Busuanga that most visitors never see. Many tours combine Calauit with a stop at a quiet beach or a mangrove river on the way back, so the day ends with a swim.

The story

Calauit was established in 1976 by presidential decree under Ferdinand Marcos. The story usually told is that it came after an international conservation appeal to help save wildlife threatened in Kenya, and animals including giraffes, zebras, impalas, gazelles and waterbucks were shipped across the ocean to their new island home. The original families living on Calauit were resettled elsewhere, a painful episode that led to years of disputes over the land.

Not all the species adapted well, and over the decades the number of animals declined, especially during periods of poor funding. The giraffes and zebras, however, have bred here for generations, and the animals you see today were born on the island, a strange new population thousands of kilometres from Africa.

Meanwhile, the sanctuary has become important for local wildlife. The Calamian deer, an endangered species found only in the Calamian islands, was raised here in captivity and in the wild, and other native animals such as the Philippine mouse-deer and Palawan bearcat have also been cared for in the park. In many ways Calauit’s quieter mission now is about protecting what belongs here.

Getting there

Most visitors join an organised tour from Coron town that includes the van ride north, the short boat crossing and the park fees. The road is long and partly rough, taking two to three hours each way. Private hire is possible but expensive, and the park keeps fixed visiting hours, so leave early.

Check that the park is open before you go; access has sometimes been limited for management reasons.

A suggested plan

1. 6:30Pick-up in Coron town and the long drive north through Busuanga’s interior.
2. 9:00Boat crossing to Calauit and a briefing with the rangers.
3. 9:30Safari ride: giraffes, zebras, and Calamian deer in the grassland.
4. 11:30Visit the animal enclosures and rescue area if open.
5. 13:00Lunch and a swim at a nearby beach on the way back to Coron.

Where to stay

Coron town is the usual base. A handful of resorts in northern Busuanga make a quieter alternative and cut the travel time, but they are expensive and best booked well ahead.

Good to know

• Bring cash for fees and lunch; there’s nothing to buy on the island itself.
• A long lens helps with the shy deer, which keep their distance.
• Wear a hat; the grassland is shadeless and hot by late morning.