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The Story of Wild Animals and Their Human Companion (Full Episode) | Born to be Wild
GMA Public Affairs
Follow
12/29/2024
Aired (December 29, 2024): Join Doc Ferds Recio and Doc Nielsen Donato as they revisit the incredible story of wild animals forming bonds of friendship with humans. Watch this video.
Category
😹
Fun
Transcript
Display full video transcript
00:00
Over the years, many friendships were formed between people and wildlife.
00:06
Mahaw! Mahaw! Noy! Noy!
00:09
Minerable baby!
00:11
Oh, he's still sleeping!
00:15
Having a wildlife friend is a big responsibility.
00:21
If you wish to do better, go out and look for your partner.
00:27
Hopefully, you'll have your own family.
00:30
Family.
00:45
In a zoo in Leyte,
00:48
a male selfie lizard, or Ibid, stood on its head.
00:54
Later on,
00:56
it walked closer to the female lizard.
01:01
The male lizard continued to move closer to the female lizard.
01:09
This behavior is called courting.
01:18
Later on, the male lizard moved away from the female lizard.
01:26
This behavior is called courting.
01:33
The Philippine Selfie Lizard, or Ibid, is known for their quick escape.
01:41
They have long tails or pointed nails,
01:45
but in this area, they are considered to be friends of humans.
01:50
Before the zoo was built, Ibid were the first to live in this area.
01:55
What does this area look like? Is it a swampy area?
01:58
Yes, sir. This is what the swimming pool does.
02:01
The whole area is a swamp.
02:05
They dug the ground to make it stable.
02:08
This used to be a forest.
02:11
We noticed that humans are not afraid of Ibid.
02:16
The same is true with Ibid. They are not afraid of humans either.
02:19
When did this start?
02:20
They don't move. They just run around.
02:23
It's like humans are on a swing.
02:26
Because of the good relationship between humans and Ibid in this area,
02:31
they allow tourists to feed the Ibid.
02:38
For us, it's not confusing.
02:40
The Ibid have their own food choices.
02:46
If they don't want to give their food, they won't eat it.
02:51
The Ibid that we thought we would never see again,
02:57
are now the opposite of the Ibid that I hold here in the zoo.
03:01
But despite being calm,
03:03
we still need to be careful in holding them because their tails can be cut.
03:10
This is a characteristic feature of this species.
03:14
Males like this have a bigger sail fin.
03:18
Females don't have that.
03:20
They are very robust and relaxed compared to other sail fins that we've seen in other places in the Philippines.
03:26
They have a beautiful body.
03:27
Their body is very robust.
03:32
They're excellent swimmers.
03:33
That's why they use their tails when swimming.
03:38
And they're also very good climbers.
03:41
I also tried to examine the female Ibid.
03:45
She has a lot of small teeth.
03:48
Look at that.
03:49
That's where she gets her food.
03:51
Look at the oral cavity.
03:53
I just saw it up close.
03:55
Her tongue is also very sticky.
03:57
It can forage.
03:58
It can tear flesh.
04:00
And it can bite.
04:05
In the wild, green crescent lizards are often seen.
04:11
What are these lizards?
04:12
Who are these?
04:13
These are green crescent lizards.
04:15
They're over the age of 10.
04:18
It's an illegal pet trade or confiscation.
04:21
How old are they?
04:22
They were brought to us in Bali 9.
04:25
But both of them died due to stress.
04:31
When they were brought here, they already had...
04:34
Immortality.
04:35
They already had babies because they were born in Bali 9.
04:38
Because they were born in Batel.
04:40
Most likely due to trying to escape.
04:45
And these lizards, you can see them here, right?
04:48
Yes, there are a lot of them in this area.
04:50
Before releasing them in the wild,
04:52
the green crescent lizards will first treat the wounds on their mouths.
04:57
Oops.
04:58
For them to return to their habitat,
05:01
they can now hunt their own food.
05:04
First, we're going to treat their mouth.
05:09
We're going to treat it with antiseptic.
05:10
It will help in any way.
05:13
This one here is already dry.
05:14
Their tongue is at the tip.
05:16
This one's bad.
05:18
See?
05:19
The problem is,
05:22
when the bone is exposed,
05:24
the infection spreads more easily.
05:26
Here, the lower mandible is already damaged.
05:29
When the gums are damaged,
05:32
and the mandible is damaged,
05:34
it's already infected.
05:36
What we need to do here
05:38
is to stop their escape
05:42
or their escape to...
05:44
I'm just going to give a small amount.
05:49
Okay.
05:51
Okay.
05:53
Antibiotic.
06:00
In the wild,
06:01
one of the most venomous animals
06:04
and the only mammal
06:06
that is venomous
06:08
starts to become active.
06:10
It's the palawan pangolin or balintong.
06:17
It smells every corner of the forest
06:20
to find its favorite food,
06:24
ants and insects.
06:32
Even though palawans are venomous,
06:34
they are still the world's most trafficked mammal.
06:39
According to the National Parks in 2019,
06:43
it is estimated that more than a million pangolins
06:47
are used for illegal trading.
06:50
But aside from poaching,
06:52
there are other dangers in their lives.
06:56
Because of the rising temperature,
06:58
the number of ants around them
07:00
die or decrease.
07:03
And in the search for food,
07:05
there is a sudden danger.
07:11
It's so hot here in Palawan,
07:13
the incidence of grass fires is increasing.
07:17
It smells like...
07:19
it smells like fire.
07:21
Wow, look at this.
07:23
Look at its feet.
07:25
Oh my God.
07:27
It's so hot.
07:29
Its skin is so soft.
07:31
This pangolin
07:33
is a victim of a grass fire.
07:36
I prepared these fluids
07:39
because this pangolin
07:41
was burned by a grass fire.
07:45
Because it's so hot here in Palawan,
07:48
the incidence of grass fires is increasing.
07:51
Let's see its injury.
07:54
Wow, look at this.
07:55
Look at its feet.
07:59
Oh my gosh.
08:02
It's so hot.
08:04
We can see that there are
08:06
first-degree burns
08:08
on this pangolin's feet.
08:10
So we need to disinfect it.
08:17
If its eyes are not damaged,
08:19
I'm worried.
08:26
This is the thing
08:28
that I've been waiting for
08:30
to witness
08:32
the release of pangolins.
08:34
Before we release them,
08:36
we want them to be hydrated.
08:39
We will soak them here
08:41
so that they can absorb
08:43
the water.
08:56
Wow.
09:14
Pangolins have a strong relationship
09:17
with humans and nature.
09:19
Some of them consider them friends.
09:22
But others
09:24
use them
09:26
to make a living.
09:29
In their daily struggle,
09:31
we hope that
09:33
we won't be affected
09:35
by their trials.
09:40
It's natural for them
09:42
to avoid and hide
09:44
when people see them.
09:46
This is part of their defense mechanism
09:49
to stay safe.
09:52
But this is not always the case.
09:59
For Visayan warthipig,
10:01
Anakim,
10:03
Uwak Siwak,
10:05
North Philippine hawk eagle,
10:07
Baguis,
10:09
and sea snakes of Crocodile Island
10:11
in Pangasinan,
10:13
humans are not dangerous.
10:16
They are
10:18
friends.
10:21
FRIENDS
10:29
For hundreds of years,
10:31
humans and nature
10:33
have been friends.
10:39
Meet Anakim,
10:41
the friendly Visayan warthipig
10:43
of Bayawan Nature Reserve.
10:46
One of his favorite people
10:48
is Justin,
10:49
the manager of the place.
10:51
He immediately
10:53
asked for a massage.
10:57
Suddenly, he lies down
10:59
to get
11:01
a belly rub.
11:03
Dog yarn?
11:07
When he feels
11:09
that no one is massaging him,
11:11
he approaches Justin
11:13
for another treat.
11:15
Morparaw.
11:17
This is a very vulnerable position
11:19
for a wild animal
11:21
to show another animal its belly.
11:23
Sniff around,
11:25
sniff the people,
11:27
and then if he's like,
11:29
ah, you're friendly,
11:31
he'll roll over.
11:34
If Anakim is kind
11:36
to his fellow humans
11:38
here in Bayawan Nature Reserve,
11:40
would he be kind
11:42
to seagulls like me?
11:44
We're going to enter
11:46
into a enclosure
11:48
of wild boars
11:50
because usually,
11:52
the wild boars we've encountered
11:54
in the past
11:56
will really attack
11:58
no matter how tame they are.
12:14
So Anakim has been here
12:16
for how long?
12:18
5 years.
12:20
And this one,
12:22
this species is very aggressive.
12:24
Very territorial and all that.
12:26
And yet, look at this guy.
12:28
He's getting a belly rub.
12:30
Let's get a belly rub.
12:32
Belly rub, belly rub.
12:34
Belly rub.
12:36
Oh, belly rub.
12:38
Belly rub.
12:40
Oh, he's really closing his eyes.
12:43
He's closing his eyes.
12:45
Is that what you want?
12:47
Belly rub?
12:49
Belly rub, baby?
12:51
Oh, he's still sleeping.
12:58
Critically endangered
13:00
or endangered
13:02
in the wild
13:04
are the Visayan Wartipi.
13:06
Because of their hunting
13:07
and loss of their natural habitat.
13:12
No matter how happy
13:14
Anakim is to be a wild boar,
13:17
it's sad to think
13:19
that he won't be able to return to the wild
13:22
because his wild instincts are gone.
13:33
He's often considered as a bad guy,
13:35
a best friend
13:37
of Erben.
13:39
He's Wok,
13:41
Erben's best friend.
13:53
Every morning,
13:55
Wok gathers his strength
13:58
to call Erben.
14:04
It's time for his breakfast.
14:08
When he opens his cage,
14:10
it doesn't fly away
14:12
but falls on his hand.
14:15
And their good morning to each other.
14:28
But when Wok says,
14:33
Mahaw,
14:34
Mahaw is a word
14:36
that means breakfast.
14:48
In 2009,
14:50
Erben caught Wok
14:52
on a fallen tree after a typhoon.
14:58
Since then,
15:00
they haven't been separated.
15:02
He has a wild boar, right?
15:04
His eyes are still closed.
15:06
This is called imprinting.
15:16
Behave, behave.
15:18
That's what happens
15:20
when we take care of the wildlife.
15:23
First,
15:25
because we're already changing their habits,
15:27
their reaction to the environment,
15:29
their natural instincts,
15:31
we are already altering.
15:32
So they don't know
15:34
where to go,
15:36
how to escape enemies,
15:38
how to interact with other birds
15:40
of the same species.
15:43
So all of that we're altering
15:45
and it will be very difficult
15:47
for this bird to be released back into the wild.
15:53
One of the most dangerous species
15:55
in the world
15:57
is the sea snake.
15:59
When it is caught,
16:01
it can lead to death.
16:06
But Nick
16:08
is not afraid
16:10
because
16:12
he considers them
16:16
his friends.
16:25
That's a crocodile head.
16:27
Do you see the hole?
16:28
That's what we call
16:30
the eyes of the crocodile.
16:32
When we arrived
16:34
at Crocodile Island,
16:36
I was surprised
16:38
by what we saw.
16:39
It's huge!
16:42
It's a yellow-lipped
16:44
banded sea krait.
16:46
They call them
16:48
banded sea krait.
16:50
Here, the banded sea krait
16:52
is resting.
16:54
It's medium-sized.
16:56
It's big.
16:58
Hello!
16:59
When people see it,
17:00
they try to avoid it.
17:04
Nick has been a caretaker
17:06
on this island for more than 3 years.
17:09
He says he's been taking care of
17:11
the island's owners.
17:13
Why did you consider them
17:14
your friends?
17:16
They're not greedy, sir.
17:19
I'm also used to this island
17:21
because
17:23
there used to be a lot of them
17:24
on Culebra Island.
17:26
Nick
17:27
takes his friends
17:29
to the island
17:32
while Envoy
17:34
takes his friend
17:36
Aguila
17:41
to the island.
17:43
Within 4 months,
17:45
Envoy and Baguis
17:47
became close friends.
17:49
You'd think Aguila
17:51
was just passing by.
17:53
But actually,
17:54
that's where
17:56
Baguis lives.
18:01
Baguis is a
18:03
North Philippine hawk eagle.
18:05
That means
18:07
his number
18:09
in the wild is decreasing.
18:13
How did you meet
18:15
Aguila?
18:17
We were singing
18:19
a song.
18:21
We didn't expect
18:22
to find him
18:24
in the wild.
18:26
I didn't want to
18:28
imprison him
18:30
because I wanted him
18:32
to be free.
18:34
I didn't want him
18:36
to stay here.
18:38
Because he's not used
18:40
to people yet,
18:42
Baguis has a chance
18:44
to return to the wild.
18:48
I saw how determined
18:50
Envoy was
18:52
to be free
18:54
to take care of him.
18:56
But there's also
18:58
the sadness
19:00
that Envoy forced me to hide.
19:02
That's why I'm glad
19:04
that he didn't
19:06
attach himself
19:08
to Baguis.
19:12
Baguis,
19:14
you do better.
19:16
Go out and look for your partner.
19:18
Hopefully,
19:20
you'll have your own family.
19:23
The existence
19:25
of friends
19:27
is a big responsibility.
19:32
They shouldn't
19:34
be close to us.
19:38
If we really want
19:40
to save them,
19:42
we should let them
19:44
where they belong.
19:52
To be continued...
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19:45
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