Buddy Butanding
"Buddy the Whale Shark"
Adventures in the Deep Blue
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) released a report in July 2016 that Whale Sharks or Butanding, as it's locally called in the Philippines, are now listed as endangered species. Back in 2012, my thesis was about the whale sharks, focusing on the preservation of this wonderful creatures in the province, Sorsogon. Illustrations told the story of "Buddy" the whale shark, portraying him as a friendly fish, who but only wishes to freely roam the seas without harm or dangers caused by poaching and illegal fishing methods.
Now, more than ever, it's imperative that we educate the public about the causes and effects of extinction. If one species in the food web ceases to exist, one or more members in the rest of the chain could cease to exist too. The circle of life is a complex system, but the whole gist of it is, we are all connected to one another somehow and that link means we also affect each other.
