Aired (April 21, 2024): Join Doc Nielsen Donato in a momentous event of releasing a rescued Philippine eagle back to its home. Watch this video
‘Born to be Wild’ is GMA Network’s groundbreaking environmental and wildlife show hosted by resident veterinarians Doc Nielsen Donato and Doc Ferds Recio. #BornToBeWild
Watch it every Sunday, 9 AM on GMA
Network. Subscribe to youtube.com/gmapublicaffairs for our full episodes.
‘Born to be Wild’ is GMA Network’s groundbreaking environmental and wildlife show hosted by resident veterinarians Doc Nielsen Donato and Doc Ferds Recio. #BornToBeWild
Watch it every Sunday, 9 AM on GMA
Network. Subscribe to youtube.com/gmapublicaffairs for our full episodes.
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FunTranscript
00:00 A wounded and weak Philippine Eagle was rescued on March 18 in Apayaw.
00:08 He was shot by three bullets from an air gun.
00:13 Will the Bird King be released from the wild?
00:27 In this video, the Philippine Eagle, Narija, is resting.
00:31 The bird is cleaning her body.
00:34 Later, the bird will try to fly inside her enclosure.
00:42 You can see that Narija is getting stronger.
00:49 She was rescued from being trapped in the Apayaw mountains.
00:55 I went to the place where I saw the eagle, Narija.
01:05 Ariel was in the forest when she saw the eagle trapped in the cliff.
01:11 She said that she saw a wound on her foot and it was weakening.
01:16 What did you do when you saw it?
01:19 They put it in a sack, Doc.
01:23 They put it in a cage.
01:25 This is the first time that the Philippine Eagle saw the residents here.
01:30 Why didn't you let it go that day when it was trapped?
01:35 It was trapped.
01:38 She said that she didn't let it go because it was weakening.
01:44 She wanted to take care of it before she left because she knew that it was a Philippine Eagle.
01:51 The DNR and the Philippine Eagle Foundation responded immediately to the eagle.
01:56 They took a blood sample and found out that it was a female.
02:01 That's why it was named Narija Kabugaw, which means "Beautiful Kabugaw".
02:08 Kabugaw also has a brood patch that can be used to take care of a Philippine Eagle.
02:17 After almost a month of rehabilitation, Kabugaw was fit for release.
02:25 One of our jobs is to help rescue the wildlife in need.
02:32 But the real goal is to return the wildlife to their original habitat.
02:42 Here in Baguio, there is a group of students who are doing rescue and release operations in the area.
02:48 Now, we will accompany them to release the rescued brown rat snake.
02:56 We are here again with a group of vet students who are doing wildlife rescues.
03:03 I heard that you rescued brown rat snakes.
03:08 Yes. And how long have you been caring for them?
03:12 We have been caring for one for about a week and then longer, around two weeks or three weeks.
03:17 It's already past five o'clock and we need to be fast because it's getting dark.
03:34 We need to release these brown rat snakes.
03:39 Into a safer place.
03:46 The moment he feels that this is his habitat, he becomes more aggressive.
03:56 Okay, you're free.
04:01 Okay, go now.
04:03 Time to go.
04:11 It's amazing, he knows where he's going. He's going to that place, not the road because of the vibrations.
04:20 That's what they hear.
04:29 Okay, go now.
04:31 The two rat snakes were caught near the people's area.
04:40 But instead of killing them, they were rescued by the residents.
04:44 Brown rat snakes are non-venomous.
04:49 They can help control pests in the jungle, such as fish.
04:54 That's why it's important to release them in the wild.
04:57 Meanwhile…
04:59 Wow, Philippine Eagle.
05:14 We can see the injuries he received from the rat snake.
05:20 But he's getting better.
05:24 I saw his leg band, what number is it? 73?
05:28 73.
05:30 So that means…
05:32 We have a coding for all of our tag eagles.
05:36 The code is unique to him.
05:38 And then, blue leg band is given to our female eagles.
05:43 For the right leg.
05:45 And then, green leg bands for males on the left leg.
05:49 Oh.
05:50 Before releasing them in the wild,
05:58 the transmitter must be connected to the transmitter.
06:01 This is how it can be tracked.
06:04 They observed a brood patch here.
06:10 The brood patch is here, on the tip of the brood patch.
06:15 If they don't incubate,
06:20 there will be a lot of pests.
06:23 But when they're starting to incubate their eggs or brood their chicks,
06:29 it's important that the feathers disappear
06:33 to generate heat.
06:35 When you feel it, it's very warm.
06:38 He has a wound here.
06:41 This is the report that the vet made on the outside
06:46 that there's an entry of a bullet.
06:50 This is what's called a wing web.
06:52 So his left wing web is right.
06:56 It's an old bullet wound.
07:01 The digits are complete, they're intact.
07:05 His talons are not fractured.
07:07 The right eye,
07:09 the cornea looks clear, there are no scratches.
07:14 There are no signs of injury.
07:17 There's a little damage, probably from the enclosure.
07:22 Because it's wild, it's natural that sometimes they want to escape
07:27 and get injured.
07:29 But it's very minor.
07:32 Together with DNR and PEF,
07:35 we will bring Ria to her release site.
07:39 It's too hot outside,
07:41 so she's inside the vehicle.
07:45 After 10 minutes,
07:50 we arrived at the release site.
07:54 We will observe her.
07:57 [Music]
08:00 We will observe her.
08:12 [Music]
08:16 [Music]
08:19 Finally, Ria is home.
08:34 [Music]
08:38 [Music]
09:06 We asked the IEC to conduct an information education campaign
09:10 for the residents of this area.
09:13 You will be her help.
09:17 If we don't join the community,
09:21 all the conservation efforts of the government,
09:26 of the conservationists,
09:28 will not be successful.
09:32 We think it's possible that we can reintroduce or translocate
09:37 surplus birds,
09:40 unpaired immature birds in Mindanao.
09:45 And you're right,
09:47 we think that all suitable habitats in Mindanao are occupied.
09:53 And then we have surplus birds.
09:56 Interestingly, based on the species distribution modeling,
10:01 there are some forests in Luzon that we think are vacant
10:04 that we can translocate or release eagles.
10:07 For instance, the forest in Subic,
10:09 Bataan, Zambales, and Mt. Banahaw.
10:13 There are no more Philippine eagles found in these places.
10:16 The endemic Philippine eagle can be found in Mindanao,
10:20 Samar, Leyte, and other parts of Luzon.
10:24 Currently, there are 130 pairs of bird kings in Luzon.
10:31 And the third is Rija, among the sightings recorded here.
10:36 It's an achievement for us to release wildlife.
10:43 But the real success is when people learn
10:50 to help the animals in need.
10:53 [Music]
11:17 [BLANK_AUDIO]