Gigantes limestone frog, itinuturing na critically endangered | Dapat Alam Mo!
Sa naglalakihang limestones sa Islas de Gigantes ay naninirahan ang mga gigantes limestone frog. Dahil sa pagkasira raw ng mga tirahan nito sa ilang bahagi ng isla, itinuturing na critically endangered ang mga ito. Sundan ang buong kuwento sa video.
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00:00So Sam, I have a question for you.
00:02This is deep.
00:04I can't answer that.
00:06Are you afraid of lizards?
00:08Lizards?
00:10Not really.
00:12I can't stand them.
00:14I can stand them, but I can't touch them.
00:18But I can touch the lizard.
00:20I don't like the one with horns.
00:22I don't like the one with horns.
00:24The buffalo.
00:26Some of us are afraid of them.
00:28But there are some groups that are afraid
00:30of losing this
00:32in our environment.
00:34Because they eat mosquitoes.
00:36Pests, insects.
00:38Susan, they are trying their best
00:40to preserve
00:42the different species of lizards
00:44that we are going to find.
00:46They are different.
00:48That is my story
00:50about lizards.
00:52Do you have a lizard?
00:54In the growing limestone
00:56in Islas De Gigantes,
00:58small lizards live.
01:00This is not common
01:02compared to other species,
01:04especially in the nature of the island.
01:06But it is said to be dangerous
01:08to lose these lizards.
01:14Under the rocks or limestone
01:16in Islas De Gigantes,
01:18the giant limestone frogs usually hide.
01:20Endemic or native to Islas De Gigantes
01:22can only be seen in Islas De Gigantes.
01:24But due to the destruction of its natural habitat
01:26in some parts of the island,
01:28the giant limestone frog is considered
01:30critically endangered.
01:32The species of lizard
01:34that Norman Greenhawk wants to save
01:36is the first and only
01:38ex-situ amphibian conservation project
01:40in the Philippines.
01:42We focus on captive breeding
01:44endangered amphibians to release them
01:46back into the wild.
01:48In 2020, his group started
01:50protecting giant limestone frogs.
01:52Now, there are more than 30
01:54giant limestone frogs
01:56in their care in a facility
01:58in Subic, Zambales.
02:00It is the only species of frog in the Philippines
02:02that has been designated by the IUCN
02:04as critically endangered.
02:06They range in size from
02:0835 to 45 millimeters.
02:10They tend to be cryptically colored,
02:12meaning that they blend into their
02:14environment. You could walk
02:16right past them in Gigantes
02:18and not even see them.
02:22We first collect them from the wild,
02:24then they undergo a 45-day
02:26quarantine to make sure
02:28that they're not carrying in any illness
02:30that they picked up in the wild.
02:32After that, we put them into
02:34individual housing
02:36for a few months to let them get
02:38acclimated, and then we move them
02:40to these breeder tanks
02:42that we have right here. The breeder tanks
02:44house between six and
02:46eight frogs at a time,
02:48one male or two males
02:50with multiple females. After that,
02:52it's sort of up to the frogs to breed.
02:54In the wild, they usually breed
02:56Gigantes limestone frogs
02:58during the rainy season. Once the female
03:00lays her eggs, we normally
03:02end up with lots of neonates.
03:04Some of them die off quickly because
03:06that's just the nature of
03:08amphibians. And we just
03:10continue raising the
03:12babies until adulthood.
03:14We feed them Dubia roaches,
03:16crickets, mealworms, termites.
03:20With any amphibian,
03:22the key is cleanliness.
03:24Amphibians, they absorb
03:26water through their skin.
03:28Their skin is very permeable,
03:30and because of that,
03:32if there's anything in the water,
03:34they absorb it too.
03:36So the water has to be clean.
03:44Dr. Arvin Diasmos is one of the
03:46amphibians. He says it can help
03:48to breed Gigantes limestone frogs
03:50to restore their natural habitat.
03:52Conservation breeding is
03:54a way
03:56for a species
03:58to continue
04:00its habitat.
04:02The big challenge
04:04for Platymanthus insulatus
04:06and Gigantes limestone frog
04:08is the loss of
04:10their habitat.
04:12For researchers,
04:14it's more important to protect
04:16their habitat.
04:18This is the priority
04:20that we should do.
04:22Secondary is the conservation
04:24breeding that we do.
04:26Gigantes limestone frog,
04:28just like its name,
04:30you can only see it in Gigantes.
04:32If it's lost,
04:34this species will be extinct.
04:36You won't see it in other places
04:38in the Philippines. Just imagine
04:40if this Gigantes limestone frog
04:42is lost or extinct,
04:44you will only see
04:46a unique species in the Philippines
04:48and especially in Gigantes.
04:50This is what our conservation
04:52biologists are focusing on.
04:54The designated officer
04:56of Municipal Environment
04:58and Natural Resources Omenro
05:00Carles Iloilo is worried
05:02about the residents and tourists
05:04who visit Gigantes.
05:06The number one income
05:08is tourism industry.
05:10It's also one of the factors.
05:12When we visit
05:14a place
05:16where the real
05:18owner is
05:20the flora and fauna,
05:22we should avoid
05:24vandalism.
05:26We shouldn't leave
05:28our names or
05:30any...
05:32We leave a big damage
05:34to our environment.
05:36Norman's group aims
05:38to bring Gigantes back to the Philippines
05:40next year.
05:42They're not as charismatic as the
05:44Philippine Eagle. Beautiful bird,
05:46everyone knows the Philippine Eagle.
05:48Amphibians have a utilitarian purpose.
05:50They eat pests.
05:52They eat mosquitoes which
05:54carry dengue. They eat agricultural
05:56pests which ruin our crops.
05:58That's the utilitarian reason
06:00to save
06:02any species of frog.
06:04One of the contribution of frogs
06:06to the environment is their balance.
06:08That's why it's important
06:10to take care of frogs.
06:12And that's the story you need to know.
06:16You know, Susan, it's funny
06:18because there are herpetologists
06:20who are experts in amphibians and reptiles
06:22who come here
06:24to take care of themselves.
06:26We should know
06:28how to take care of ourselves.
06:30That's why when I see a frog egg
06:32I don't touch it.
06:34I just leave it there.
06:36You let it grow
06:38because it's beautiful.
06:40There's nothing bad about frogs.
06:42It depends on the frog, Susan.
06:44The Bufo Marinos or Araneta
06:46or Bukol-Bukol
06:48is when your dog licks it, it's dead.
06:50That's why when I have a dead dog,
06:52I thought it was eaten.
06:54It's not true.
06:56It's licked by a frog.
06:58Because when it's chased,
07:00when it's licked,
07:02there's a poison gland.
07:04And that poison is enough
07:06to kill a human being.
07:08That's why kids shouldn't play with it.
07:10So we should know that
07:12when we see it,
07:14don't let your pets take care of it.
07:16But this gigantic frog is a different species.