Marine Mammal FAQ’s

1. What are marine mammals ?

“Marine  mammals”  is  a  collective  term   pertaining  to  animals  that  have  the  following  characteristics:  (a) air  breathing (b) warm-­blooded  (endothermic)  vertebrates (c) have  hair  (for  whales  and  dolphins  these  are  just  a  few  hairs   around  the  upper  jaw  present  at  birth)   (d) feed  their  young  with  milk  produced  by  mammary  glands  of   the  female (e) rely  mainly  on  aquatic  habitats  for  their  food (f) have  evolved  anatomical  features  and  physiological   adaptations  to  live  in  the  aquatic  environment.

2. What are marine mammals of the Philippines?

Marine mammals of the Philippines comprise 28 cetacean species and 1 sirenian.

3. What is PMMSN?

The Philippine Marine Mammal Stranding Network‘s (PMMSN) main objectives are to rescue, rehabilitate and release stranded marine mammals nationwide. It is a SEC registered non-profit organization established in October 2005 whose main member organizations include the DA-BFAR, Local Government Units (LGUs), UP Diliman’s Institute of Environmental Science & Meteorology (UPD IESM) and Ocean Adventure. The PMMSN’s core revolve in the 5 Rs: Rescue, Rehabilitation, Release/ Refloat, Repository and Research.