Tag Box

Program Pasig Penguin 2003

2003 was the first year that a well regarded and renowned scientist with actual wildlife training joined the team.  Prior to 2003, the team consisted predominantly of engineers, geologists and accountants.  It became apparent to the newly arrived scientist that the previous release programs had not collected sufficient data in terms of survivability of the penguins, as nearly all had expired within 27 minutes of release.  Subsequently a program of toxicity tolerance was devised, such that the combination of depleted funds and new technology resulted in a modest release of 6 penguins tagged with GPS and radio transmitters.  The success was immediate, with all 6 tracked as a cluster travelling in downstream along the Pasig and entering Manila Bay before the signal was lost.  This has been the most conclusive evidence to date that the penguins could survive in the Pasig, although pundits did claim that the data suggested the speed of migration of the pod was almost exactly the same speed as the river flow, and that the radio transmitions should have been able to be received for 100’s of kms, unless they sank or dissolved.  The group dismissed this negativity as sour grapes and planned the then largest release for 2004.

Program Pasig Penguin 2002

Following over three years hiatus in the release program, 2002 saw the most ambitious release program ever with 56 penguins released.  New lightweight polypropylene tags had been developed and the penguins enjoyed more than half an hour of playful interplay before a rival environmental program’s skimmer boat designed to rid the Pasig of red algae bloom unfortunately attracted all but 1 of the released penguins in a tragic accident that blocked the fine aluminium mesh of the skimmer boat and its water intake for its on-board fire fighting pump, rending it in-operative for 6 months.  This was satisfactorily resolved in the Makati Regional Courts but severely depleted funds for the 2003 release program.

Program Pasig Penguin 1999-2001

The release program was disrupted during the Asian Economic Crises due to lack of funding to finance the importation and breeding of a new colony of Spheniscida.  The group did meet frequently and this long planning period was in some disarray until the 2002 program was initiated.

Program Pasig Penguin 1998

In late March 1998, a new team led by renowned shipping and drilling magnate (name withheld for security reasons) released a significantly smaller number of juvenile Spheniscidae  (12) with inert lead tags.  Unfortunately the small size of these birds caused all but two to sink to the bottom of the Pasig and only two could be rescued, but were tragically run over when their enviro-cage fell off the back of the search & rescue utility on EDSA ring road. The program had some success in that the new tags were observed as not reacting with the river water.

Program Pasig Penguin 1997

In April 1997, the inaugural release of 27 Spheniscidae was conducted at the banks of the Pasig, close to the current powerhouse mall near Rockwell.  Unfortunately, the zinc alloy used on the tags of the penguins reacted aggressively with the Pasig’s river water resulting in 100% mortality of the original release. The moral of the original release team was severely tested and the Program Pasig Penguin almost ended before it had begun.  However the team regrouped a year later with alternate metallic tags.