Charles “Andy” Ross, American herpetologist, almost single-handedly led the campaign, which had some degree of success, in saving the critically-endangered Philippine Crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis Schmidt) from extinction.
It took this remarkable man 31 of his 58 years of life to pursue the task of conserving this species — from 1979 to 2010. He died at St. Luke’s Medical Center, Global City on 7 Sept. 2011 after a lingering illness. He is survived by his wife, Glory, and his two sons, Robert and James.
To honor the memory of Andy, two close friends in the crocodile industry which he vigorously promoted — William Belo and Vicente P. Mercado — announced during a session of the 21st Working Meeting of the IUCN-SSC Crocodile Specialist Group held May 21 to 25 at the National Museum in Manila, the establishment of the Charles A. Ross Research Fund for crocodile studies in the Philippines.
The establishment of this fund is a fitting tribute to Andy, and will enable bright young people to conduct research on crocodiles in pursuance of academic degrees that Andy was not able to obtain in his lifetime.
I once suggested that Andy be conferred a Master’s degree in Biology based on his extensive knowledge and research and practical experience on crocodilians, but my suggestion was disapproved by some Silliman faculty members.
Andy conducted surveys of the wild and captive populations of the Philippine Crocodile on various islands of the Philippines after receiving research grants from Smithsonian Institution and the WWF in the early 1980s, and reported that the numbers of this species was small, between 500 and 1,000 individuals.
Later in early 2000s, the presence of small populations in the wild was reported in San Mariano, Isabela on Luzon, and in the Ligawasan Marsh on Mindanao.
Andy devoted the greater part of his time and effort to conservation of and research on crocodiles. He also conducted research on frogs and lizards, and published his findings in research journals, and in a nicely illustrated book on crocodiles and alligators.
I joined him in many of his field trips to Palawan, Siargao, Negros, and the Batanes, and co-authored with him some reports on crocodiles.
His family and my family were close. His family visited us in Dumaguete, and my wife and I stayed with them in Washington, D.C. while serving a Visiting Researcher at Smithsonian Institution in 1983-84.
Andy was Research Associate of SUAKCREM, one of the two research centers he was affiliated with in the Philippines. The other one was the National Museum.
Andy contributed to the establishment of the Crocodile Breeding Facility for the Philippine Crocodile in 1980 by procuring a sexually-mature male from Zamboanga City. This male was bred with a female donated by Prof. Timoteo S. Oracion to Silliman University in 1971.
Under captive conditions, the female laid 354 eggs from 1981 to 2004, of which 114 hatched successfully. Fourteen individuals still remain on the Silliman University campus to this date, but most of the animals bred at the Facility have been donated to several conservation organizations in the Philippines, and to zoos abroad.
The Silliman Breeding Facility was part of the Silliman Marine Laboratory, which I founded in 1974 and directed from 1974 to 1988, the year when I retired from active teaching at the University.
The Facility was the first of its kind in the country; DENR’s Crocodile Farming Institute was established in 1987. Its success was made possible by the assistance of many people, including members of my family, who helped in caring for the animals, and in gathering research data on crocodile breeding.
It is a pleasure to acknowledge the valuable contribution of Charles A. Ross, an American herpetologist, to the conservation of the critically-endangered Philippine Crocodile, a species he adopted as his own.
