The pilandok, Balabac's pocket-sized deer
A deer smaller than a house cat lives on Balabac and Bugsuk, and nowhere else on Earth.
Written from public sources to get this page started. We'll replace it with the story as Balabac residents tell it.
Walk the forest edge at dusk and you might glimpse something that looks like a tiny deer on tiptoe. That's the pilandok, the Balabac mouse-deer. It stands about 18 centimeters at the shoulder, has no antlers, and moves in quick, nervous hops.
It has been recorded on Balabac, Bugsuk and Ramos, but a 2022 survey found it only on Balabac Island and Bugsuk, and estimated about 2,500 animals. It's listed as endangered. PCSD names forest loss from kaingin, or slash-and-burn farming, and illegal logging among the biggest threats, and people still hunt and trap it.
It has been famous for a long time. When President Macapagal visited in 1964, the Official Gazette described Balabac as known for its mouse deer and its talking bird, the tiong.
The trickster of the folk tales
Across Southeast Asia, the mouse-deer is the clever one in folk tales. In a well-known Malay story, Sang Kancil needs to cross a river full of crocodiles. He tells them the king wants them counted, gets them to line up snout to tail, and hops across their backs, counting as he goes. In Balabac, where both animals live, the story lands close to home.
How to be a good guest
The pilandok is fully protected under Philippine law. Hunting one, keeping one as a pet or buying one is illegal. If someone offers you a pilandok, say no and tell the barangay or PCSD.
If you'd like to look for one in the wild, go with a local guide. Keep your voice low, keep your distance, and turn off your flash.
