GLOBAL PINOY: Filipino conservationist wins prize for 'rebranding' world's rarest crocodile Marites Gatan Balbas has won a Whitley award for her work involving local communities in the protection of the 'misunderstood' Philippine crocodile. Saving the world's rarest crocodile has been as much about overcoming its image problem as more traditional conservation efforts. Traditional stories depicted the Philippine crocodile as a large man-eater, farmers saw them as pests and the animal is frequently used as a symbol to represent corrupt politicians. But in reality, she explains, the species is relatively small, shy and friendly and does not attacked unless provoked. It is her work to change this image through community initiatives that has seen Gatan Balbas recognised with a Whitley Fund for Nature award and helped to bring the Philippine crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis) back from the brink of extinction.

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