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.
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00:00Over the years, many friendships were formed between people and wildlife.
00:06Mahaw! Mahaw! Noy! Noy!
00:09Minerable baby!
00:11Oh, he's still sleeping!
00:15Having a wildlife friend is a big responsibility.
00:21If you wish to do better, go out and look for your partner.
00:27Hopefully, you'll have your own family.
00:30Family.
00:45In a zoo in Leyte,
00:48a male selfie lizard, or Ibid, stood on its head.
00:54Later on,
00:56it walked closer to the female lizard.
01:01The male lizard continued to move closer to the female lizard.
01:09This behavior is called courting.
01:18Later on, the male lizard moved away from the female lizard.
01:26This behavior is called courting.
01:33The Philippine Selfie Lizard, or Ibid, is known for their quick escape.
01:41They have long tails or pointed nails,
01:45but in this area, they are considered to be friends of humans.
01:50Before the zoo was built, Ibid were the first to live in this area.
01:55What does this area look like? Is it a swampy area?
01:58Yes, sir. This is what the swimming pool does.
02:01The whole area is a swamp.
02:05They dug the ground to make it stable.
02:08This used to be a forest.
02:11We noticed that humans are not afraid of Ibid.
02:16The same is true with Ibid. They are not afraid of humans either.
02:19When did this start?
02:20They don't move. They just run around.
02:23It's like humans are on a swing.
02:26Because of the good relationship between humans and Ibid in this area,
02:31they allow tourists to feed the Ibid.
02:38For us, it's not confusing.
02:40The Ibid have their own food choices.
02:46If they don't want to give their food, they won't eat it.
02:51The Ibid that we thought we would never see again,
02:57are now the opposite of the Ibid that I hold here in the zoo.
03:01But despite being calm,
03:03we still need to be careful in holding them because their tails can be cut.
03:10This is a characteristic feature of this species.
03:14Males like this have a bigger sail fin.
03:18Females don't have that.
03:20They are very robust and relaxed compared to other sail fins that we've seen in other places in the Philippines.
03:26They have a beautiful body.
03:27Their body is very robust.
03:32They're excellent swimmers.
03:33That's why they use their tails when swimming.
03:38And they're also very good climbers.
03:41I also tried to examine the female Ibid.
03:45She has a lot of small teeth.
03:48Look at that.
03:49That's where she gets her food.
03:51Look at the oral cavity.
03:53I just saw it up close.
03:55Her tongue is also very sticky.
03:57It can forage.
03:58It can tear flesh.
04:00And it can bite.
04:05In the wild, green crescent lizards are often seen.
04:11What are these lizards?
04:12Who are these?
04:13These are green crescent lizards.
04:15They're over the age of 10.
04:18It's an illegal pet trade or confiscation.
04:21How old are they?
04:22They were brought to us in Bali 9.
04:25But both of them died due to stress.
04:31When they were brought here, they already had...
04:34Immortality.
04:35They already had babies because they were born in Bali 9.
04:38Because they were born in Batel.
04:40Most likely due to trying to escape.
04:45And these lizards, you can see them here, right?
04:48Yes, there are a lot of them in this area.
04:50Before releasing them in the wild,
04:52the green crescent lizards will first treat the wounds on their mouths.
04:57Oops.
04:58For them to return to their habitat,
05:01they can now hunt their own food.
05:04First, we're going to treat their mouth.
05:09We're going to treat it with antiseptic.
05:10It will help in any way.
05:13This one here is already dry.
05:14Their tongue is at the tip.
05:16This one's bad.
05:18See?
05:19The problem is,
05:22when the bone is exposed,
05:24the infection spreads more easily.
05:26Here, the lower mandible is already damaged.
05:29When the gums are damaged,
05:32and the mandible is damaged,
05:34it's already infected.
05:36What we need to do here
05:38is to stop their escape
05:42or their escape to...
05:44I'm just going to give a small amount.
05:49Okay.
05:51Okay.
05:53Antibiotic.
06:00In the wild,
06:01one of the most venomous animals
06:04and the only mammal
06:06that is venomous
06:08starts to become active.
06:10It's the palawan pangolin or balintong.
06:17It smells every corner of the forest
06:20to find its favorite food,
06:24ants and insects.
06:32Even though palawans are venomous,
06:34they are still the world's most trafficked mammal.
06:39According to the National Parks in 2019,
06:43it is estimated that more than a million pangolins
06:47are used for illegal trading.
06:50But aside from poaching,
06:52there are other dangers in their lives.
06:56Because of the rising temperature,
06:58the number of ants around them
07:00die or decrease.
07:03And in the search for food,
07:05there is a sudden danger.
07:11It's so hot here in Palawan,
07:13the incidence of grass fires is increasing.
07:17It smells like...
07:19it smells like fire.
07:21Wow, look at this.
07:23Look at its feet.
07:25Oh my God.
07:27It's so hot.
07:29Its skin is so soft.
07:31This pangolin
07:33is a victim of a grass fire.
07:36I prepared these fluids
07:39because this pangolin
07:41was burned by a grass fire.
07:45Because it's so hot here in Palawan,
07:48the incidence of grass fires is increasing.
07:51Let's see its injury.
07:54Wow, look at this.
07:55Look at its feet.
07:59Oh my gosh.
08:02It's so hot.
08:04We can see that there are
08:06first-degree burns
08:08on this pangolin's feet.
08:10So we need to disinfect it.
08:17If its eyes are not damaged,
08:19I'm worried.
08:26This is the thing
08:28that I've been waiting for
08:30to witness
08:32the release of pangolins.
08:34Before we release them,
08:36we want them to be hydrated.
08:39We will soak them here
08:41so that they can absorb
08:43the water.
08:56Wow.
09:14Pangolins have a strong relationship
09:17with humans and nature.
09:19Some of them consider them friends.
09:22But others
09:24use them
09:26to make a living.
09:29In their daily struggle,
09:31we hope that
09:33we won't be affected
09:35by their trials.
09:40It's natural for them
09:42to avoid and hide
09:44when people see them.
09:46This is part of their defense mechanism
09:49to stay safe.
09:52But this is not always the case.
09:59For Visayan warthipig,
10:01Anakim,
10:03Uwak Siwak,
10:05North Philippine hawk eagle,
10:07Baguis,
10:09and sea snakes of Crocodile Island
10:11in Pangasinan,
10:13humans are not dangerous.
10:16They are
10:18friends.
10:21FRIENDS
10:29For hundreds of years,
10:31humans and nature
10:33have been friends.
10:39Meet Anakim,
10:41the friendly Visayan warthipig
10:43of Bayawan Nature Reserve.
10:46One of his favorite people
10:48is Justin,
10:49the manager of the place.
10:51He immediately
10:53asked for a massage.
10:57Suddenly, he lies down
10:59to get
11:01a belly rub.
11:03Dog yarn?
11:07When he feels
11:09that no one is massaging him,
11:11he approaches Justin
11:13for another treat.
11:15Morparaw.
11:17This is a very vulnerable position
11:19for a wild animal
11:21to show another animal its belly.
11:23Sniff around,
11:25sniff the people,
11:27and then if he's like,
11:29ah, you're friendly,
11:31he'll roll over.
11:34If Anakim is kind
11:36to his fellow humans
11:38here in Bayawan Nature Reserve,
11:40would he be kind
11:42to seagulls like me?
11:44We're going to enter
11:46into a enclosure
11:48of wild boars
11:50because usually,
11:52the wild boars we've encountered
11:54in the past
11:56will really attack
11:58no matter how tame they are.
12:14So Anakim has been here
12:16for how long?
12:185 years.
12:20And this one,
12:22this species is very aggressive.
12:24Very territorial and all that.
12:26And yet, look at this guy.
12:28He's getting a belly rub.
12:30Let's get a belly rub.
12:32Belly rub, belly rub.
12:34Belly rub.
12:36Oh, belly rub.
12:38Belly rub.
12:40Oh, he's really closing his eyes.
12:43He's closing his eyes.
12:45Is that what you want?
12:47Belly rub?
12:49Belly rub, baby?
12:51Oh, he's still sleeping.
12:58Critically endangered
13:00or endangered
13:02in the wild
13:04are the Visayan Wartipi.
13:06Because of their hunting
13:07and loss of their natural habitat.
13:12No matter how happy
13:14Anakim is to be a wild boar,
13:17it's sad to think
13:19that he won't be able to return to the wild
13:22because his wild instincts are gone.
13:33He's often considered as a bad guy,
13:35a best friend
13:37of Erben.
13:39He's Wok,
13:41Erben's best friend.
13:53Every morning,
13:55Wok gathers his strength
13:58to call Erben.
14:04It's time for his breakfast.
14:08When he opens his cage,
14:10it doesn't fly away
14:12but falls on his hand.
14:15And their good morning to each other.
14:28But when Wok says,
14:33Mahaw,
14:34Mahaw is a word
14:36that means breakfast.
14:48In 2009,
14:50Erben caught Wok
14:52on a fallen tree after a typhoon.
14:58Since then,
15:00they haven't been separated.
15:02He has a wild boar, right?
15:04His eyes are still closed.
15:06This is called imprinting.
15:16Behave, behave.
15:18That's what happens
15:20when we take care of the wildlife.
15:23First,
15:25because we're already changing their habits,
15:27their reaction to the environment,
15:29their natural instincts,
15:31we are already altering.
15:32So they don't know
15:34where to go,
15:36how to escape enemies,
15:38how to interact with other birds
15:40of the same species.
15:43So all of that we're altering
15:45and it will be very difficult
15:47for this bird to be released back into the wild.
15:53One of the most dangerous species
15:55in the world
15:57is the sea snake.
15:59When it is caught,
16:01it can lead to death.
16:06But Nick
16:08is not afraid
16:10because
16:12he considers them
16:16his friends.
16:25That's a crocodile head.
16:27Do you see the hole?
16:28That's what we call
16:30the eyes of the crocodile.
16:32When we arrived
16:34at Crocodile Island,
16:36I was surprised
16:38by what we saw.
16:39It's huge!
16:42It's a yellow-lipped
16:44banded sea krait.
16:46They call them
16:48banded sea krait.
16:50Here, the banded sea krait
16:52is resting.
16:54It's medium-sized.
16:56It's big.
16:58Hello!
16:59When people see it,
17:00they try to avoid it.
17:04Nick has been a caretaker
17:06on this island for more than 3 years.
17:09He says he's been taking care of
17:11the island's owners.
17:13Why did you consider them
17:14your friends?
17:16They're not greedy, sir.
17:19I'm also used to this island
17:21because
17:23there used to be a lot of them
17:24on Culebra Island.
17:26Nick
17:27takes his friends
17:29to the island
17:32while Envoy
17:34takes his friend
17:36Aguila
17:41to the island.
17:43Within 4 months,
17:45Envoy and Baguis
17:47became close friends.
17:49You'd think Aguila
17:51was just passing by.
17:53But actually,
17:54that's where
17:56Baguis lives.
18:01Baguis is a
18:03North Philippine hawk eagle.
18:05That means
18:07his number
18:09in the wild is decreasing.
18:13How did you meet
18:15Aguila?
18:17We were singing
18:19a song.
18:21We didn't expect
18:22to find him
18:24in the wild.
18:26I didn't want to
18:28imprison him
18:30because I wanted him
18:32to be free.
18:34I didn't want him
18:36to stay here.
18:38Because he's not used
18:40to people yet,
18:42Baguis has a chance
18:44to return to the wild.
18:48I saw how determined
18:50Envoy was
18:52to be free
18:54to take care of him.
18:56But there's also
18:58the sadness
19:00that Envoy forced me to hide.
19:02That's why I'm glad
19:04that he didn't
19:06attach himself
19:08to Baguis.
19:12Baguis,
19:14you do better.
19:16Go out and look for your partner.
19:18Hopefully,
19:20you'll have your own family.
19:23The existence
19:25of friends
19:27is a big responsibility.
19:32They shouldn't
19:34be close to us.
19:38If we really want
19:40to save them,
19:42we should let them
19:44where they belong.
19:52To be continued...