Unless you are cut off from civilization you have probably heard about biodiversity loss and its impact on the environment. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List reports that 1 in 8 birds, 1 in 4 mammals, and 1 in 3 amphibians are endangered species. An estimated 15 to 37 percent of all species will be extinct in 40 years unless we do something more than rattle off alarming statistics or claim to be environmentalists in order to look cool.
Some species have advantages over others. We’ll donate to campaigns to protect whales and dolphins because they’re cute and in the event of an ocean disaster we imagine they would be our aquatic Leonardo DiCaprios. We’ll buy T-shirts with pictures of lions and stuffed toy tigers because big cats are beautiful, majestic creatures. We’ll visit tarsier reservations because they’re cute, although we really need to weigh the nocturnal beasties’ interests against the entertainment of loud tourists with their blinding flash cameras.
But crocodiles? Not an easy species to love. They’re hideous, they’re scary, and in countless movies we’ve seen them eat people (hence their bad reputation, which is unfair). But if crocodiles cease to exist, the complex balance in wetland ecosystems would be upset. We would lose one of the last survivors of the prehistoric age, a creature that has not changed in the last 100 million years. Crocodiles lived through the rise and extinction of the dinosaurs and the evolution of our own ancestors; it would be terrible if they don’t survive human encroachment into their natural habitats.
The closest many of us will get to the crocodile is through a Lacoste shirt. When the French tennis player Rene Lacoste, nicknamed “The Crocodile” for his tenacity on court, had a crocodile design embroidered on his shirts in the 1920s, it was one of the first times a brand appeared on a piece of clothing. Eight decades later that crocodile has become one of the most recognized fashion logos in the world.
Now Lacoste has embarked on a campaign to save the animal it is so closely associated with. Lacoste is a premium partner of Save Your Logo, a French Endowment Fund for Biodiversity project that calls on companies with wildlife species on their logos to get involved in the preservation of these species. Since 2009 the company has funded projects aimed at safeguarding endangered crocodiles, alligators, caimans and gharials in Nepal, Colombia, Florida and China.
On Jan. 27 Lacoste announced its fifth Save Your Logo project: to preserve the existence of the Philippine crocodile in the wild. It will support the Mabuwaya Foundation in the Northern Sierra Madre, which aims to reestablish the Philippine crocodile to its former range.
Crocodiles have been in the local news lately, thanks to “Lolong,” the one-ton 21-foot crocodile captured last year in the Agusan Marsh. Lolong, believed to be the largest crocodile in captivity at present, is not a Philippine crocodile but an Australian species whose ancestors must’ve swum over to these islands eons ago. The local species is much smaller, measuring two meters when fully-grown, with large scales on the back of its neck. With a population of about 200 in the wetlands at present, it is one of the most endangered types of crocodilians.
“The role of the community is key in any conservation project,” says Chris Banks, manager for conservation partnerships of Zoos Victoria, which lends its support and expertise to the Mabuwaya Foundation. Usually people kill crocodiles out of fear, or to sell the skins. In Isabela, site of the crocodile sanctuary, humans and crocodiles coexist peacefully. Besides, the skin of the Philippine crocodile does not make good leather.
Among the biggest threats to the Philippine crocodile are the loss of habitat and typhoons. Uncontrolled clearing of vegetation leads to erosion, which leads to the death of smaller crocodiles. The Mabuwaya Foundation runs a headstart program that raises baby crocodiles until they reach the length of one and a half meters. These grown-up crocodiles are then tagged, given names by the locals, and released into the wild. The local government pays for the guards in the sanctuary, which also provides employment for the locals. Economic incentives will be given to the community for the number of crocodile eggs that hatch in the area.
“Crocodiles are resilient creatures,” Banks notes. “They’ve started to spread out beyond the areas where they were released.” These riverine crocodiles are timid by nature, and not likely to attack humans. “We’re confident that their numbers will increase more quickly.”
It should be noted that the Save Your Logo project is concerned with the preservation of crocodiles in the wild. There are crocodile farms all over the world that raise the animals for their skins; as long as these farms do not impact the wildlife population, most conservationists do not take issue with them.
Banks and his colleagues are well aware of the image problem the buwaya (crocodile) faces in the Philippines. “Whenever Filipinos hear that we work with crocodiles, they say, ‘Oh, you’re with the politicians!’” Banks says. Conservationists hope that increased awareness will change the way the public views crocodiles. Again the locals play a big part in the information campaign. Every year students at Isabela State University put on a play in which the actors dress as crocodiles and talk about the importance of protecting the animals.
“Lacoste is the international brand that is most clearly associated with an animal. We are therefore very pleased to support this new project as part of our partnership with the Save Your Logo campaign,” says Michel Lacoste, chairman of the company founded by his father. “This operation deeply involves the local population that would suffer first from the disappearance of this species. It gives value to biodiversity by supporting local initiatives such as rebuilding schools and financial support for hospitals.”
In May, Michel will address a conference on crocodile conservation to be held in the Philippines, Lacoste corporate communications director Arnaud Leblin announced. Two hundred crocodile specialists are expected at the meeting.
“Lacoste is present in 120 countries, and the Philippines is one of our first markets in Asia,” Leblin notes. “The crocodile brand, a byword for relaxed elegance, is part of popular culture. Practically everything in recent history can be illustrated with photos of world figures in Lacoste.” It is fitting that the brand be associated with one of the most vital issues of our time: the protection of biodiversity.