Aired (December 8, 2024): Doc Nielsen Donato visits a rescued civet cat cared for by a soldier in Panamao, Sulu. Their unique bond has grown into what many describe as a heartwarming father-and-son relationship.
Meanwhile, Doc Ferds Recio explores the world of bird watching in San Fernando, La Union, capturing the fascinating ways birds hunt for their food.
Watch this video!
Meanwhile, Doc Ferds Recio explores the world of bird watching in San Fernando, La Union, capturing the fascinating ways birds hunt for their food.
Watch this video!
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00:00In Panamaw, Sulu, I encountered a unique banding of soldiers and musang.
00:09Because the father or mother of this young musang is a soldier.
00:15Hey! It's hot!
00:19Is it wet?
00:20It's hot!
00:31One of the best bird hunters.
00:33No matter how tiny they are.
00:36So they use this kind of posture to stalk their prey.
00:40Little Igret or Tagat is already trapped in the last big fish.
00:46But this seems to be the cause of his death.
00:52In the jungle, there are cute residents.
01:00They are hairy and look like they have a fierce face.
01:04But this ugliness is the reason why they are far from their parents.
01:12And also from their neighbors.
01:15They are smelly and are scattered in the branches of trees.
01:19While his mother is not here yet.
01:24It's a pity that he is a soldier.
01:28But he is a man.
01:31He is a man.
01:34He is a man.
01:37He is a man.
01:39He is a man.
01:41He is a man.
01:42It's a pity that his mother is not here yet.
01:45It's a pity that he is not here yet.
01:48His parents are far from their parents.
01:57But because of his ugliness, he is far from his parents.
02:03Because inside their territory, there are others who are still living.
02:12They have already divided the people in this jungle.
02:17He can no longer find his way back to his natural habitat.
02:22Until he completely disappeared.
02:26Even a small mouse still needs the love and care of its mother.
02:34In this situation, a small mouse is vulnerable to any threat.
02:43It can be in danger of being eaten by predators such as snakes, birds, and dogs.
02:51It can also be that someone suddenly attacked it.
03:02In Panamau, Sulu, I encountered a strange bond between a soldier and a mouse.
03:10Because the father or mother of this little mouse is a soldier.
03:17The son of this little mouse is named George.
03:23The routine of a father starts when the sun rises.
03:29He will be like this all day long.
03:31As soon as he wakes up, before he drinks his coffee, he will drink his milk.
03:48A few days later.
04:02Hi, sir.
04:03Sir, good afternoon.
04:04Good afternoon.
04:05Hi, Dr. Nelson.
04:06Yes, sir.
04:09Wow, look at this.
04:10So, you tamed this?
04:12Yes, sir.
04:13When I was a kid, I was given this by a civilian.
04:22Oliver feeds George fruits.
04:25But George prefers to eat it with milk.
04:31I also tried to give milk to George.
04:34George.
04:36Here you go.
04:39He's biting it.
04:41When he bites it, the milk will come out.
04:44Yes, sir.
04:45He's so full.
04:47I decided to check up on the little mouse and give it vitamins.
04:52We will give it some vitamins and deworming.
04:56A few months later.
05:02How many months has it been?
05:04It's been a few months, sir.
05:07So, how did you get this baby civet cat?
05:11I have a friend who was at the checkpoint.
05:16I gave it to him because he couldn't take care of it.
05:19But not for long.
05:21A mouse is small and fragile.
05:25Sir, you need to hold this because we will take care of it.
05:31Hello, George.
05:32George is so gentle.
05:37We're going to give it some vitamins.
05:41What will you do when it gets old?
05:44We haven't thought of that yet.
05:46You haven't figured it out yet?
05:48I have witnessed many times that a mouse became aggressive when they grew up.
05:55They became brave even to their own caretaker.
06:00While I was examining the baby mouse...
06:04Hey, it's sweating.
06:07Is it wet?
06:08It's hot.
06:11That's why my back is getting hot.
06:14You, George.
06:18When an animal has been in a small cage for a long time,
06:23they get zookasis.
06:25It's a disease where they repeat a behavior like pacing or excessive licking.
06:36Did you try to play with it outside?
06:40It's gallant here, sir.
06:43You should bring it to the forest.
06:48Get it familiarized with the forest.
06:53There is no facility for the zoo to cope with the wildlife that are being rescued.
06:59When it comes to our protocols for the wildlife caretakers,
07:03our office assesses the status of the wildlife.
07:07We just tell them to be careful.
07:10But our office encourages them to be released to the wild because that's where they should live.
07:20And since George is still young, he will stay here with Oliver.
07:26But the experts remind them to be careful when taking care of animals,
07:31especially if they come from the wild.
07:33They can be infected by zoonotic diseases or diseases that can be transmitted to humans from animals like rabies.
08:04There is a high chance that George will live and grow up because of Oliver's care.
08:10I will take good care of him, ma'am.
08:13I will take care of him and relieve his stress.
08:16I will continue to take care of him until he has time to take care of himself.
08:23Giving time to a young animal that needs help is also a sacrifice.
08:29This is also proven by the importance of coexistence between humans and wildlife.
08:40It's morning again.
08:45The river is full of birds that come to look for food.
08:58They have their own way of catching fish.
09:02Some of them pass by the lake while others go fishing.
09:12All of them are the target of catching food today.
09:19But sometimes, the birds themselves are the target of catching fish.
09:29The Bird of Paradise
09:36Birds are common.
09:38They are the victims of hunting.
09:40They hunt to make pets, to eat, to sell.
09:43But it would have been nice if we get to know them closer and observe them as they hunt.
09:51They hunt for their survival.
09:54That's why we are here in San Fernando, La Union.
09:58We are here to observe a niche area, which is a bird sanctuary within the city.
10:09The common kingfisher, or salaksa, is resting on a branch of a tree.
10:16Later on,
10:19it moved its spot.
10:22What it flew was a branch of a tree in the middle of the river.
10:29The sun is rising.
10:31It's time to catch the fish that will be its breakfast.
10:38It threw the fish under the water.
10:43But it seems like it's still not content.
10:51From this spot, it seems like there are more fish here.
10:57Just a few more seconds.
11:00Bullseye!
11:02It caught a small fish.
11:05It's still swimming, so it's trying to grab it.
11:09It's still swimming, so it's trying to grab the fish under the tree.
11:25We caught a lot of kingfishers.
11:27They are very tiny, colorful birds with slender long beaks.
11:33As you can see, they have long beaks, big heads, and small necks.
11:39These are special features of these birds to make them more hydrodynamic
11:44so that when they come and hunt for fish that are in the water,
11:49their impact on the water is less, and they have more chances of getting the food.
11:54Aside from this, they also have third eye-lead goggles
11:58that help them see under the water.
12:03It's great, right? It's the ultimate.
12:06One of the best bird hunters, no matter how tiny they are.
12:11That's why we shouldn't small in on the kingfishers
12:15because even though they are small, they are very notorious,
12:18and their hunting skills are impressive.
12:28The Kingfishers
12:44That kind of behavior is typical of bird hunters.
12:50They smell, chase, and attack.
12:55That's courtship behavior.
12:59For us to be able to see them together as if communicating,
13:03it's probably a mating call.
13:09Just like the kingfishers,
13:12the Blue-tailed Bee-eater, or Pirik-pirik, is also small but terrible.
13:17From the wire where it's attached,
13:20it's able to see the two birds below.
13:25The two birds are not aware of the sudden...
13:42The style of the birds is different.
13:47They go around the water in search of fish.
13:53Once they have a target,
13:56they will fly to the top of the water
13:59and then rush to it.
14:10This one doesn't stop until there's no fish in sight.
14:18The Blue-tailed Bee-eater
14:23Later on...
14:29Finally, it's able to eat.
14:40The Blue-tailed Bee-eater has been looking for food for several hours.
14:48It's almost going around the river in search of food.
14:58It's not tired of running and jumping to catch fish.
15:04These little igrets, when they walk,
15:07they have straight bodies, long legs, and erect necks.
15:12So they use this kind of posture to stalk their prey.
15:15The small fish will slowly creep to them
15:20so that when they're close,
15:23they'll know where they are and they'll attack quickly.
15:27But there's a problem.
15:29Because the Blue-tailed Bee-eater is still young,
15:31it's not used to catching its own food.
15:36It's been several hours.
15:39It's still not able to catch anything.
15:42A few moments later...
15:46It caught a big Tilapia.
15:51It escaped from its trap several times,
15:54but it didn't give up.
15:59It slowly pushed it into its trap.
16:04The Tilapia is too big.
16:06It can't handle it.
16:09It's trying to swallow it,
16:11but it's having a hard time.
16:15It's starting to run out of breath.
16:21The Tilapia couldn't do anything
16:24but to swallow the fish that it struggled to catch.
16:33But the Tilapia's motto is never say die.
16:36It doesn't stop looking for food.
16:44A few moments later...
16:46Finally, a small fish caught the Tilapia.
16:50Nice!
16:52We saw a lot of Kingfishers.
16:54We also saw some egrets and herons.
16:59So the birders would just come here,
17:01sit down,
17:03get their cameras out,
17:04and just observe the reactions
17:06or the behavior of the birds.
17:09Alvin is one of the bird watchers who often comes here.
17:13When he was young,
17:14he used to see a lot of birds in their town in San Fernando.
17:20Because of this,
17:21he became fond of birds.
17:23But instead of catching them and raising them,
17:26he chose to watch them in the wild
17:29and take pictures.
17:31There's no word to define it,
17:33but for me,
17:34it's priceless.
17:35Especially when you take a picture of a migratory bird
17:39that you didn't expect to see,
17:41that's common or that you don't see often here.
17:44As a hobbyist or as a bird watcher,
17:47your collection here will be your list of birds.
17:52Because of the number of birds seen in La Union,
17:56the Department of Tourism in the province
18:00is active in bird watching.
18:02Right now,
18:03we are offering bird guiding here in La Union.
18:06So if you are a birder or basically an enthusiast
18:09or if you want to start birding,
18:11you can find us here in La Union
18:14and we can accompany you going to different sites
18:17and check those birds available here in La Union.
18:21But even though bird watching in La Union is active,
18:26the number of bird catchers
18:29are still increasing.
18:34But maybe because of our culture back then,
18:37some still have pets.
18:39They catch and put traps,
18:42especially in the mountainous areas here in La Union.
18:45They create handmade cages
18:48and they put them there.
18:50They know that they are feeding them,
18:52but sometimes, the survival of birds
18:55that are captured and not in the wild
18:57is that they just die.
18:59It's also fun to observe birds.
19:02Even if you feel like you're just passing time,
19:04but observing as they hunt,
19:06it's like seeing people watching in a way,
19:09but in a very serene and quiet place like this.
19:13Otherwise, you won't be able to appreciate it.
19:16Isn't it more fun to watch birds
19:18that are in the wild than in cages?
19:27I hope that we will just let them catch food and survive.
19:37Instead of us catching and putting traps ourselves,
19:42instead of us catching and putting traps ourselves.