Danilo S. Balete: Naturalist, Biodiversity Scientist,
Conservationist, Educator
By Lawrence R. Heaney, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL, USA
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| DaniloSBaleteCV2021.doc |
When Danny Balete died on 1 July 2017 at the age of 56, the Philippines lost one of
its most important biodiversity scientists, conservationists, and educators who touched the
lives of students, young professionals, and senior scientists. A great many people, myself
and my family included, also lost a most important friend.
Danny grew up on a small farm in southern Luzon, riding water buffaloes bare-
backed, catching fish and crabs bare-handed in a nearby river, and making rafts that he rode
on the river down to the sea, often skipping school so that he could find remarkable things to
bring home in his pockets. That early experience turned Danny into a life-long naturalist –
someone who found great inspiration and personal reward in learning new things about the
natural world. Danny left his home in Albay to pursue his interests in biology, earning
money for tuition in a Manila suburb by working various odd jobs including janitor, rust
remover on ships, and cashier. Luck struck when one night, while riding a jeepney home
from work, he sat next to a Dutch biologist, the invertebrate systematist L. B. Holthuis, with
whom he had a casual conversation. That biologists was so impressed by Danny’s energy,
commitment, and knowledge that he became his sponsor, sending him through college,
initially at the University of the Philippines – Diliman, and then at UP Los Banos where he
could focus more heavily on wildlife studies. Danny and Holthuis remained friends research
colleagues up until the time of Holthuis’ death several years ago, thus beginning a long
history for Danny of working closely with both Filipino and foreign collaborators.
As an undergraduate student at UPLB, Danny completed one of his first independent
research studies, a detailed accounting of the food habits of the Asian ghost bat, leading to a
publication that marked the beginning of his career as an eminent mammalogist. After
graduating from the University of the Philippines at Los Banos in 1988, Danny worked for
the Haribon Foundation, a prominent conservation non-government organization, on a series
of projects involving a major re-design and expansion of the Philippine protected areas
system, in collaboration with the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB, now the
Biodiversity Management Bureau, BMB). As Danny broadened his focus on additional
topics, he remained actively involved with the investigation of potential protected areas,
making crucial contributions to the DENR planning process.
I met Danny in 1989, when he, Nina Ingle, and Toto Manamtam collaborated with me
on a reconnaissance and initial survey of the mammals of a previously unstudied small island
(Sibuyan) that ultimately yielded 5 previously unknown endemic species of mammals and
contributed to the creation of a new national park. From 1991 to 1994, he served as the
teaching assistant for an intensive biodiversity conservation training program for young
professional biologists, based in Chicago at the Field Museum and funded by the MacArthur
Foundation. This project, which included a field course on Mt. Kitanglad and intensive study
in Chicago, included many participants who subsequently went on to become major figures
in Philippine conservation, and who played a foundational role in the founding and initial
development of the Wildlife Conservation Society of the Philippines (now the BCSP). After
completing his Master’s degree at the University of Illinois in Chicago in 1995 with a thesis
on the population biology of the endemic small mammals of Mt. Isarog National Park, he
worked until 2004 for several projects in the Philippines funded by the United Nations
Development Program, World Bank, European Union, and Nordic Agency for Development
and Ecology, conducting biodiversity research and promoting improved management and
expansion of the protected area system. By 2001, Danny was back at work with the Field
Museum’s Philippine Mammal Project, as a team member for our studies in Balbalasang-
Balbalan National Park. From 2004 until his death, Danny served the Philippine Mammal
Project as Field Team Leader, typically spending 3-4 months each year in the field, often in
collaboration with such organizations as the Haribon Foundation, Philippine Eagle
Foundation, and Conservation International. In addition, he spent several months each year
advising NGOs and government agencies on conservation issues, and 3-4 months at the Field
Museum on mammal research. During this time, Danny continued to interact extensively
with the Biodiversity Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources, was a lecturer at the University of the Philippines – Diliman, and served as a
research associate at the National Museum of the Philippines.
Danny loved doing field work, and had organizational and social skills that allowed him
to work seamlessly with field teams, local people, and government officials, often leading 25-
30 porters and 5-8 team members into rugged mountains where the team would stay for one
to two months before moving on to the next study area. I would join the team for about a
month each year, but it was Danny who stayed in the field and made the project successful.
The elevational transects conducted by the field team provided the first detailed information
about the distribution, habitat requirements, abundance, conservation status, and general
natural history of dozens of Philippine mammals, ultimately leading to the discovery of about
50 new species of mammals. Because Danny was able to immediately identify nearly every
vertebrate in the country, and nearly every large flowering plant, and had especially keen
powers of observation, the field work also led to discoveries of a dozen or so previously
unknown reptiles and amphibians and several species of Rafflesia, the parasitic plant with
giant, odoriferous flowers (one of which was named after Danny). All of this led to Danny’s
remarkable publication record, including about 65 papers in peer-reviewed journals, plus
numerous reports for government agencies about the faunas and environmental conditions in
current and potential protected areas, and articles and videos about biodiversity conservation
for the general public. In recent years, Danny became a much sought-after speaker at
colleges and universities due to his ability to relate directly with students from all walks of
life and his profound knowledge of, and love for, the biodiversity heritage of the Philippines.
I can do no better as an ending to this tribute than to quote from a review of “The
Mammals of Luzon Island”, the book that Danny, Eric Rickart and I wrote to serve as a
summary of our field and museum research that began in 2000: “The Mammals of Luzon
Island is a testament to … international collaboration between U.S. and Philippine scientists
that has fuelled discovery and fostered … wildlife conservation … in the Philippines. One of
the co-authors, Danilo “Danny” Balete, championed this effort… . This book, and the
systematic research program it represents, is … testament to his enduring legacy” (Rowe,
2018).
its most important biodiversity scientists, conservationists, and educators who touched the
lives of students, young professionals, and senior scientists. A great many people, myself
and my family included, also lost a most important friend.
Danny grew up on a small farm in southern Luzon, riding water buffaloes bare-
backed, catching fish and crabs bare-handed in a nearby river, and making rafts that he rode
on the river down to the sea, often skipping school so that he could find remarkable things to
bring home in his pockets. That early experience turned Danny into a life-long naturalist –
someone who found great inspiration and personal reward in learning new things about the
natural world. Danny left his home in Albay to pursue his interests in biology, earning
money for tuition in a Manila suburb by working various odd jobs including janitor, rust
remover on ships, and cashier. Luck struck when one night, while riding a jeepney home
from work, he sat next to a Dutch biologist, the invertebrate systematist L. B. Holthuis, with
whom he had a casual conversation. That biologists was so impressed by Danny’s energy,
commitment, and knowledge that he became his sponsor, sending him through college,
initially at the University of the Philippines – Diliman, and then at UP Los Banos where he
could focus more heavily on wildlife studies. Danny and Holthuis remained friends research
colleagues up until the time of Holthuis’ death several years ago, thus beginning a long
history for Danny of working closely with both Filipino and foreign collaborators.
As an undergraduate student at UPLB, Danny completed one of his first independent
research studies, a detailed accounting of the food habits of the Asian ghost bat, leading to a
publication that marked the beginning of his career as an eminent mammalogist. After
graduating from the University of the Philippines at Los Banos in 1988, Danny worked for
the Haribon Foundation, a prominent conservation non-government organization, on a series
of projects involving a major re-design and expansion of the Philippine protected areas
system, in collaboration with the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB, now the
Biodiversity Management Bureau, BMB). As Danny broadened his focus on additional
topics, he remained actively involved with the investigation of potential protected areas,
making crucial contributions to the DENR planning process.
I met Danny in 1989, when he, Nina Ingle, and Toto Manamtam collaborated with me
on a reconnaissance and initial survey of the mammals of a previously unstudied small island
(Sibuyan) that ultimately yielded 5 previously unknown endemic species of mammals and
contributed to the creation of a new national park. From 1991 to 1994, he served as the
teaching assistant for an intensive biodiversity conservation training program for young
professional biologists, based in Chicago at the Field Museum and funded by the MacArthur
Foundation. This project, which included a field course on Mt. Kitanglad and intensive study
in Chicago, included many participants who subsequently went on to become major figures
in Philippine conservation, and who played a foundational role in the founding and initial
development of the Wildlife Conservation Society of the Philippines (now the BCSP). After
completing his Master’s degree at the University of Illinois in Chicago in 1995 with a thesis
on the population biology of the endemic small mammals of Mt. Isarog National Park, he
worked until 2004 for several projects in the Philippines funded by the United Nations
Development Program, World Bank, European Union, and Nordic Agency for Development
and Ecology, conducting biodiversity research and promoting improved management and
expansion of the protected area system. By 2001, Danny was back at work with the Field
Museum’s Philippine Mammal Project, as a team member for our studies in Balbalasang-
Balbalan National Park. From 2004 until his death, Danny served the Philippine Mammal
Project as Field Team Leader, typically spending 3-4 months each year in the field, often in
collaboration with such organizations as the Haribon Foundation, Philippine Eagle
Foundation, and Conservation International. In addition, he spent several months each year
advising NGOs and government agencies on conservation issues, and 3-4 months at the Field
Museum on mammal research. During this time, Danny continued to interact extensively
with the Biodiversity Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources, was a lecturer at the University of the Philippines – Diliman, and served as a
research associate at the National Museum of the Philippines.
Danny loved doing field work, and had organizational and social skills that allowed him
to work seamlessly with field teams, local people, and government officials, often leading 25-
30 porters and 5-8 team members into rugged mountains where the team would stay for one
to two months before moving on to the next study area. I would join the team for about a
month each year, but it was Danny who stayed in the field and made the project successful.
The elevational transects conducted by the field team provided the first detailed information
about the distribution, habitat requirements, abundance, conservation status, and general
natural history of dozens of Philippine mammals, ultimately leading to the discovery of about
50 new species of mammals. Because Danny was able to immediately identify nearly every
vertebrate in the country, and nearly every large flowering plant, and had especially keen
powers of observation, the field work also led to discoveries of a dozen or so previously
unknown reptiles and amphibians and several species of Rafflesia, the parasitic plant with
giant, odoriferous flowers (one of which was named after Danny). All of this led to Danny’s
remarkable publication record, including about 65 papers in peer-reviewed journals, plus
numerous reports for government agencies about the faunas and environmental conditions in
current and potential protected areas, and articles and videos about biodiversity conservation
for the general public. In recent years, Danny became a much sought-after speaker at
colleges and universities due to his ability to relate directly with students from all walks of
life and his profound knowledge of, and love for, the biodiversity heritage of the Philippines.
I can do no better as an ending to this tribute than to quote from a review of “The
Mammals of Luzon Island”, the book that Danny, Eric Rickart and I wrote to serve as a
summary of our field and museum research that began in 2000: “The Mammals of Luzon
Island is a testament to … international collaboration between U.S. and Philippine scientists
that has fuelled discovery and fostered … wildlife conservation … in the Philippines. One of
the co-authors, Danilo “Danny” Balete, championed this effort… . This book, and the
systematic research program it represents, is … testament to his enduring legacy” (Rowe,
2018).
