Status
The species has not been recorded since the original pair of Negros Fruit Doves were shot in May 1953. However, an unconfirmed sighting in 2002 from a forested area in southern Negros has given hope that the species may still exist, and as such the IUCN lists the Negros Fruit Dove as Critically Endangered, as any surviving population is likely to number fewer than 50 birds. If the species still exists, it is likely that habitat destruction for agriculture, timber, and charcoal-burning and hunting, a common problem for all other pigeons on Negros, are major threats.
As numerous collectors had visited Negros prior to 1953 and did not record the species, it is likely that it was already very rare by the time of its discovery. It is suspected that the Negros Fruit Dove was originally a lowland species, but the destruction of forests in northern Negros forced the dove from its ideal habitat and led to its probable extinction. Today, no forest exists in northern Negros at an elevation lower than 750 m (2,460 ft), and several searches in the 1990s of Mount Kanlaon and the surrounding area failed to discover any sign of the species' continued existence. Ornithological fieldwork has discovered that the nearby island of Panay is home to some species previously thought to be endemic to Negros, including the Negros Bleeding-heart. This discovery and the presence of unexplored lowland forests on Panay give hope that the Negros Fruit Dove may still exist in low numbers on a nearby island. Other than the depiction of the bird on a Philippine environmental education poster in the 1990s, no conservation measures have been enacted to protect any surviving population.
Read more about this topic: Negros Fruit Dove
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