Aired (October 20, 2024): Doc Ferds Recio rescued a Samar cobra in Candijay, Bohol and helped return it to its natural habitat. In another incident, two dogs tragically lost their lives after being bitten by a Philippine cobra.
Meanwhile, Doc Nielsen Donato investigated a house in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, that is overrun by millipedes. What species are these millipedes, and why are they important? Watch this video.
Meanwhile, Doc Nielsen Donato investigated a house in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, that is overrun by millipedes. What species are these millipedes, and why are they important? Watch this video.
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00:00Two dogs in Nueva Ecija were killed by the Philippine Cobra after it was spotted.
00:22Earlier, we saw how feisty it is.
00:25So, they're out to defend itself.
00:27So, that's what's deadliest for it.
00:30The Philippine Cobra
00:32The Philippine Cobra
00:34They're millipedes. They have so many legs.
00:36They can't stand still.
00:38There are so many. You can't count them.
00:41It's overwhelming.
00:43So, we're here now to solve a mystery.
00:45A house was attacked by the Philippine Cobra or millipedes.
00:50Oops! What was that sound? Oh, my God!
00:52Someone stepped on me!
00:54The millipedes.
00:56It's true, right?
00:58Oh, my God! It's right here on the stairway.
01:09A summer cobra came out of the cage early.
01:14It will look for a place to lay its body in the sun.
01:19Because it's cold-blooded, it needs heat to melt quickly.
01:25The problem is the spot it chose.
01:33It's a place for dogs.
01:37It's sure that it will lay its life in danger.
01:44In the town of Candihay in Buhol,
01:46people often encounter cobras.
01:50It's here. It's inside the cage.
01:54You can see its pattern. It's yellow and black.
01:58Where did it come from?
02:00It came from a compost pit.
02:02A compost pit.
02:03And it brought it here?
02:05Yes, it brought it here.
02:07How many times has it brought it here?
02:09It's the fourth time.
02:11It's a summer cobra.
02:12But we've already released the other one.
02:15When I was studying in elementary school,
02:17we had a neighbor who was bitten by a king cobra.
02:20So I was curious about the venom of a king cobra.
02:23Before I touched the venomous snakes,
02:25I did some research.
02:26So I got used to how to touch the venomous snakes.
02:31We're going to take it out from the shell.
02:33And then, let's examine this cobra.
02:43We saw this summer cobra,
02:45and how fierce it is.
02:47As soon as we took it out of the box,
02:49it was really tempted to attack us.
02:55To know if this cobra is fit for release,
02:58it needs to be checked.
03:04Okay.
03:05So we can see the typical characteristics of a summer cobra.
03:09Its body is yellow and black.
03:12Earlier, we saw how feisty it is.
03:15So they're out to defend itself.
03:17You also saw the fangs.
03:19Those are the most deadly to it.
03:21So when that bites,
03:22it hangs to the flesh,
03:24and that's where it injects its venom.
03:26Beautiful snake.
03:27Okay.
03:28It doesn't have a lot of bruises on its snout.
03:30Unlike the others we've seen,
03:32in their attempt to escape,
03:34it doesn't have those.
03:35This is a show of aggression.
03:37It's showing this to scare the people around it,
03:41and show dominance also.
03:45The conditions of the snakes are good.
03:47So this one is really fit for release,
03:49and we can immediately release this back into the wild.
03:52Endemic, or only found in the Philippines,
03:55are the summer cobras.
03:57They have a population of about
03:593,000 to 4,000.
04:02They have a population in Bohol, Leyte,
04:05Samar, and Mindanao.
04:08Together with DNR Bohol,
04:10we returned the summer cobra
04:12to its natural habitat.
04:15It looks like there's food here in the area,
04:17because this is a body of water.
04:19There are fishes and crabs that it can eat.
04:22So hopefully,
04:23it won't cross its path with the people here in the area,
04:27because that's where we have problems.
04:32Alright.
04:58It was last year first.
05:00We didn't know there were snakes.
05:04We were surprised,
05:05because that's a cobra, right?
05:07A summer cobra.
05:08What Jackie is looking for
05:10is that Rusty is eating
05:12a dead summer cobra.
05:14It ate the cobra.
05:15It happened again.
05:17It really ate the whole body of the snakes.
05:23Rusty has no signs of death,
05:25and no signs of illness.
05:28Rusty.
05:29Rusty.
05:30We were worried that it might bite.
05:33It didn't bite.
05:34Yesterday, it was playing with one of our dogs.
05:37I didn't bring it to the vet.
05:40According to wildlife specialist,
05:41Paolo Miguel Kim,
05:43it's luckier that the dog didn't die.
05:47In cases of snake envenomation,
05:50we call it dry bites.
05:53So not all circumstances
05:57where a venomous snake like a cobra bites,
06:00they release venom
06:03to their prey
06:05to inject to a potential predator.
06:12The death of two of their dogs,
06:15Gonzo and Casey,
06:18is still fresh.
06:19These two Belgian Malinois are married.
06:22The reason for their death
06:28is the bite of a Philippine Cobra.
06:33They called me and said,
06:34Gonzo is dead.
06:36I was really crying
06:40because I really loved that snake.
06:42When they were about to feed it,
06:45it was already dead.
06:46At that time,
06:48they were looking for the snake.
06:50That's when they saw
06:52that the snake's body was cut off.
06:54One was beside Gonzo,
06:56and the other was in a hole.
06:58It was also cut off more than 6 or 7 feet.
07:02The next month,
07:03Casey's dog also died.
07:06After a few weeks,
07:08the same thing happened.
07:10The owner was killed.
07:11The snake was also beside him at that time.
07:14This is not the first time
07:16that two dogs faced a Philippine Cobra.
07:21We just heard that someone was barking
07:24which is Gonzo and Casey.
07:26At that time,
07:27only one Cobra entered here.
07:30They both were killed by the Cobra.
07:33Marvin's remaining dog, Tiger,
07:36was also often caught by the snake.
07:39They encountered that Tiger was eating something.
07:43At that time,
07:44I couldn't identify
07:46what the snake was eating.
07:49The frequent encounter of dogs and snakes
07:54is a big problem
07:56not only for domestic pets
08:01but also for their lives.
08:04The most important to know about this is that
08:06the wildlife came before us.
08:09They were established in the area
08:11before we arrived.
08:13When people went there,
08:15there was a human encroachment.
08:17We changed the landscape of a place
08:19and potentially,
08:20we also changed the behavior of the wildlife there.
08:23The grass and wild areas
08:25attract people
08:27because there are a lot of food supplies there.
08:29We have a lot of dogs and cats.
08:32Inevitably,
08:33there will be a conflict between the two
08:35as our pet cats and pet dogs
08:38are natural predators.
08:40For the population of animals not to be affected,
08:43it is important to have a balance.
08:46Because by taking care of the environment
08:50and the needs of the community
08:52or the so-called buffer zone,
08:59whether they are alive or dead,
09:01all of them are important
09:03and have a role to play.
09:06The dogs are our guards.
09:09The snakes are the predators of the forest.
09:13We should help them
09:15so that the forest won't be destroyed
09:17so that their lives won't be affected
09:20just like the snakes in our area.
09:34The parrots are known for their large number of feet.
09:39They walk very fast
09:41because they have a lot of feet.
09:43They can't stay still in one place.
09:46But those feet
09:50lose their function
09:52when the rain falls.
09:59That's why they chose to hide
10:02in our houses.
10:05There are so many of them.
10:07You can't count them all.
10:09It's really confusing.
10:24The rain keeps falling.
10:28That's why the animals in the forest
10:30are being discarded one by one.
10:40These animals
10:43are now fully forced to carry their food.
10:49They pack their food for the long rainy season.
10:54What they have left
10:56is a small bag or a stink bag.
11:01They help each other
11:03to carry the insects to their nests.
11:17The parrots are also busy
11:19looking for food.
11:25They can't be seen
11:27so that they know where to go.
11:31They use the antenna parrots
11:33to sense the surroundings.
11:43This is called
11:45Sing-Sing Parry
11:47or Tren-Tren.
11:49It's only played by children
11:51because when they move,
11:53they form a circle.
11:55They are called Sing-Sing Parry
11:57because when there's danger,
11:59they form a circle
12:01that looks like a sing-sing.
12:08These two parrots
12:11are together digging the ground.
12:18Underneath the ground,
12:20they hide
12:21in case the rain falls.
12:26While the two are digging,
12:30a millipede passed by
12:32and seems to want to join them.
12:39If there's a roundback,
12:41there's also a flatback millipede.
12:46They are busy eating
12:48the rotten wood.
12:50Some of them are wearing jackpots.
12:54Along with the millipedes,
12:56they are mixing
12:58with the fallen mango seeds.
13:00See this?
13:02It's hard.
13:04When I hold it,
13:06its exoskeleton is hard.
13:09At the same time,
13:11it releases
13:13a strong smell.
13:15The smell is intense.
13:17They release their chemicals
13:19for protection
13:21or for defense.
13:25Many people think
13:27that millipedes have thousands of feet.
13:29But the truth is,
13:31they only have 24 to 750 feet
13:34depending on the species.
13:38The millipedes
13:40are the largest species
13:42in the world.
13:45They can walk fast
13:47because they have a lot of feet.
13:51They can't stay still.
13:54These millipedes
13:56have around 80 legs.
14:01They are connected
14:03to each segment of their body.
14:05The flatbacks
14:07usually go to cold
14:09and humid places.
14:12They don't like hot weather
14:14because their bodies
14:16can dry up and die.
14:24These two
14:26temporarily multiply
14:28while it's not yet hot.
14:38But that's another story
14:40when it rains heavily.
14:44They don't use
14:46their feet
14:48for bathing.
14:52That's why
14:54one of them
14:56drowned.
14:59To avoid drowning,
15:01the millipedes
15:03go to people's houses.
15:06In Las Piñas City,
15:09Tin, Tin's mother,
15:11has a big problem.
15:13Millipedes
15:15live in her house.
15:21Wow, there are so many.
15:23You can't count them.
15:27Hi, Tin.
15:28Good morning, Dr. Nielsen.
15:30Hello, how are you?
15:32Oops, what was that sound?
15:34Oh my God!
15:36Someone stepped on me!
15:38These are
15:40millipedes.
15:42It's true, right?
15:44In Tin's stairway,
15:46there are so many millipedes.
15:50You can smell the scent
15:52produced by these millipedes
15:54when they were stepped on
15:56or touched.
15:58Ma'am Tin,
16:00where did you see
16:02those millipedes?
16:04Here, sir.
16:06There are more
16:08than last time.
16:10Look, in this particular corner,
16:12it's like those horror movies
16:14that you watch
16:16where there's an area with
16:18cockroaches, but here,
16:20there are millipedes.
16:22Wherever you look,
16:24in the garage of the house,
16:28there's a growing cockroach.
16:30In the past,
16:32every afternoon, I would bring my son here
16:34so that we can get some fresh air.
16:36But because of them,
16:38we couldn't go down
16:40because I would step on them.
16:42But not only can they be seen outside,
16:44they can also enter
16:46inside the house.
16:50That's why Tin is afraid
16:52of his son's safety.
16:54I saw one of them
16:56crawling on the playpen.
16:58He was holding it.
17:00He was only 8 months old at that time.
17:02He was still laughing
17:04because the cockroaches were moving.
17:06It's a good thing that I saw it
17:08so that he wouldn't step on it.
17:10There's cyanide,
17:12although very minimal,
17:14but it can be harmful to the baby of Ms. Tin.
17:16Why did they come here?
17:18That's what we found out.
17:22There's feces
17:24and you can see
17:26that it's very moist.
17:28These millipedes
17:30like a moist area.
17:32They don't want it to be too wet
17:34because if it's too wet,
17:36they will drown.
17:40I also checked
17:42what's on the other side of the wall.
17:44There might be a leak later.
17:46That's what the millipedes
17:48like.
17:50They like a moist area,
17:52not a puddle of water.
17:54That's the reason why they go to this area.
17:58We also noticed
18:00the vacant lot next to Ms. Tin's house.
18:06When we examined the area,
18:08we saw
18:10a lot of cockroaches.
18:12This is Ms. Tin's house.
18:14You can see that there's a mango tree.
18:16This is their habitat.
18:18One day,
18:20this house will be built.
18:22We will see them
18:24on the road.
18:28There are a lot of them around now
18:30because it's the breeding season
18:32for cockroaches.
18:36A female millipede
18:38can lay up to 300 eggs
18:40in one batch.
18:44If you see a cockroach
18:46in your house,
18:48don't worry.
18:50They don't intend
18:52to hurt humans.
18:54They're not harmful to humans.
18:56Although millipedes secrete
18:58chemical defenses
19:00depending on their species
19:02and their order,
19:04they're not dangerous to humans.
19:06Their primary chemical secretion
19:08is cyanide.
19:10They're cyanogenic.
19:12But the amount of cyanide
19:14is so small that it can't affect us.
19:16In fact,
19:18it's harmful to decomposers
19:20because when they eat
19:22rotten things on the ground,
19:24it becomes fat.
19:26This place used to be
19:28a vacanting area.
19:30But when the houses
19:32were being developed,
19:34they lost their homes
19:36so they were concentrated
19:38in this vacanting area.
19:40When their situation
19:42got worse,
19:44they decided to come here.
19:46Just like us,
19:48cockroaches
19:50also want a good
19:52and safe place to live.
19:56A place where
19:58there's enough to eat.
20:02A place where
20:04their species can multiply
20:06and live in peace.
20:10Whether it's sunny
20:12or rainy.
20:16Thank you for watching
20:18Born To Be Wild.
20:20For more stories
20:22about our planet,
20:24please subscribe
20:26to the JMA Public Affairs YouTube channel.