Calauit Island

Calauit Island is an island of the Calamian Archipelago, just off the north-western coast of Busuanga Island. It is part of the municipality of Busuanga in the province of Palawan, Philippines. The entire island was declared as a wildlife sanctuary and game preserve in 1977, now is a tourist attraction known as Calauit Safari Park.

The wild animals were imported from Africa in the 1970s. The imported animals include 20 giraffes, dozens of zebra and antelopes. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos forced the locals to move to Halsey Island and ordered to clear the bamboo forests to make the place similar to the savannahs of Kenya. An estimated 254 families, mostly from the indigenous Tagbanwa tribes, were evicted and relocated to the former leper colony of Halsey Island.

Today, the African animals continue to roam around the island and the number of animals is increasing. The animals have been inbreeding for four generations and may die off from the lack of diversity in their gene pool.