Aired (November 24, 2024): In celebration of the Born to be Wild's 17th anniversary, Doc Nielsen Donato continues his journey in Sulu as he searches for a gigantic python rumored to have swallowed a whole goat in Indanan, Sulu. Will he be able to find it?
Meanwhile, Doc Ferds Recio explores Basilan, where he uncovers endangered sharks and stingrays being sold in the wet market.
Watch this video!
Meanwhile, Doc Ferds Recio explores Basilan, where he uncovers endangered sharks and stingrays being sold in the wet market.
Watch this video!
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00:00There's a battle going on.
00:16I've been diving for a long time, but I've never seen this under the sea.
00:20It's only here in Mindanao that you can see a lot of them.
00:23This place is said to be the habitat of a huge animal that was eaten by a goat.
00:40Born to be Wild is giving it away this November.
00:42For the first time ever, the hidden beauty of Sulu and Basilan will be revealed.
01:00In a world of people and wildlife.
01:08Who is the real enemy?
01:13And who will remain strong?
01:16In the search for food.
01:41He needs to cross a territory.
01:55But what he entered was a war zone.
02:01A war zone for those who are lost like him.
02:17He tried to climb a tree to hide.
02:21Even I don't want to enter this place because it's too dangerous.
02:26And we're dealing with a snake that can swallow a whole adult goat.
02:33I'm scared.
02:47After the battle in Sulu,
02:52the residents are still able to go out.
02:56Even the animals that were caught in the war.
03:03But when they go out,
03:06they will face a new encounter.
03:12Because the world of people and wildlife also meets.
03:18In Sulu, the residents of Barrio Buanza are always on alert.
03:39Because several times, a big snake has been spotted in the area.
03:45And this October,
03:49a big snake ate a wild goat in this house.
03:56In fear, the residents did not approach the snake.
04:03It returned to the forest.
04:06This place is said to be the habitat of a big snake
04:11that ate a wild goat.
04:15And there were families there who had an encounter with the snake.
04:20They saw it, and when it came back, it was like a big bucket.
04:25It was down there.
04:27The big one that ate the wild goat.
04:32In the area of Sulu,
04:36the residents of Barrio Buanza are always on alert.
04:42Because several times, a big snake has been spotted in the area.
04:49So, of course, the fear of people here,
04:53since it has already expanded its body,
04:56it can already eat an adult goat.
04:59Maybe later, next time, it will eat a child or a human.
05:04There is also no way out of this part of Tulay.
05:09In fear that they will be ambushed by a big snake.
05:13He told the children not to go there because the snakes are scary.
05:18Even I don't want to enter this place because it's very dangerous.
05:23It doesn't have a lot of trails.
05:25And we're dealing with a snake that can swallow a whole adult goat.
05:32It's scary.
05:33The trees are big.
05:35And there are blind spots that you don't know if the snake is there.
05:42Most probably, it has already digested its food.
05:47And it's ready again to hunt.
05:50So, we don't know when it will strike again.
05:56Until now, it hasn't shown up yet.
05:59Until now, it hasn't shown up yet.
06:07If people are afraid of a big snake,
06:14the snakes also avoid crossing the road to people.
06:22Because if they are caught, they are the losers.
06:29In Indanan, Sulu.
06:31A snake is being hunted.
06:34The snake has entered the chicken coop.
06:39According to the resident, they killed the snake before it can take care of other chickens.
06:47Aside from Indanan,
06:49a community in Hulo, Sulu is also afraid of snakes.
06:54The snake often stays in the house of a resident.
07:00They report the snake to the Bureau of Fire Protection or BFP.
07:13I went to the snake to examine it.
07:17It's a medium-sized reticulated python.
07:21How long has it been here? How many days or weeks?
07:25One week.
07:27So, we will take it out to assess it.
07:42It's clean.
07:44It's clean.
07:46It's a good candidate for release back into the wild.
07:50Whoever captured this one, the BFP, did a good job.
07:57The ones we are documenting are very aggressive.
08:02They strike, but why is this reticulated python so friendly?
08:10Okay.
08:12Let's put it back.
08:17It's time to let it go and return it to its natural habitat.
08:23We are here at its release site.
08:27We are with the residents of Budato to release this reticulated python that we examined.
08:40Okay.
08:42All right.
08:51Some people appreciate the presence of the wildlife.
08:55Once we see that it's okay to release it, we return it to its natural habitat.
09:01At this point, there is agreement between humans and snakes.
09:09Respect for the territory and wildlife.
09:16He's got that.
09:18Sometimes, fear brings incomprehension.
09:26But in the end, there is also silence.
09:32It's time for people to choose to avoid and let any animal be trapped in their backyard.
09:49The Basilan has been under tension for more than five decades due to the war against terrorism.
09:56Now, the peace and beauty of the Basilan is slowly returning.
10:02For so many years, we have missed the beauty of the Basilan.
10:06But it's not all over yet.
10:08Let's help them to recover.
10:13We are now entering the area of the Samal Bajau.
10:17These are the tribes that live by the sea.
10:21Hapko hap!
10:23Hapko hap!
10:27There are a lot of kids.
10:29Hello! What are you doing?
10:32What are you selling?
10:36But they are not the only ones living by the sea.
10:43Underneath, the blue-spotted stingray is hiding in the sand.
10:46The blue-spotted stingray has been attacked by the stingray using its mouth.
10:53It's eyes are blinded while it is alertly watching the surroundings.
10:59On the other side of the sea, there are the young stingrays.
11:03They are like a battalion of fish.
11:06They are unstoppable.
11:10The strength of the stingray and the stingray is strong when they are under the sea.
11:17Because it's time for them to leave their territory,
11:23they are sure to lose.
11:35Because up there, they can be found in the market.
11:42They are dead.
11:47Together with the Maritime Police and Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Agrarian Reform,
11:53we joined their patrol.
11:56Oh, look at this.
11:58This is a stingray.
12:00This is a blacktip.
12:02This is a characteristic blacktip.
12:04These are all stingrays.
12:07These are all stingrays.
12:10This is a blue-spotted stingray.
12:17How much does one stingray cost?
12:1950 pesos.
12:21How much do you sell it for?
12:2360 to 70 pesos.
12:26That's the price of a stingray.
12:29Our fellow patrollers told us that
12:33stingrays and other sea creatures such as blacktip stingrays are not allowed to be caught.
12:39This is against the Philippine Fisheries Code.
12:41This is against the Philippine Fisheries Code.
12:43Even if they catch stingrays,
12:47they are not allowed to be caught.
12:49All that we see,
12:51we bring it to the office.
12:55One by one, stingrays and other sea creatures were caught.
12:59This is a 4-liter shark.
13:01They caught almost 30 sharks here,
13:05along with other blue-spotted marbled rays.
13:08Their companion, wedgefish, is also dead.
13:13I usually see this in ocean parks and in fish museums.
13:19I've been diving for a long time,
13:22but I've never seen this under the sea.
13:24I've only seen this under the sea here in Mindanao.
13:28You can see a lot of them.
13:30They're big.
13:36I've seen species that are protected in the Philippines
13:42because they are considered critically endangered.
13:45This is a white-spotted wedgefish.
13:48Its fins are considered as one of the most expensive shark fin trade in China.
13:56This is also a protected species.
13:57There are 10 species here,
13:59but not all of them are endangered.
14:02Now you know why we catch them because they are not allowed to be caught.
14:06Now I know why we catch them because they are not allowed to be caught.
14:11Anyone who catches and catches an endangered species of stingrays
14:17can be fined from half a million to five million pesos
14:23and possibly jailed for 20 years.
14:28There's a group of people who are hunting in a barangay in Tipo-Tipo, Basilan.
14:37I was there at my children's school.
14:40When I got home, the windows were broken.
14:43We let the group of people who were caught by our camera.
14:48We went to Tipo-Tipo, Basilan to find out the story of these endangered species.
14:54Good morning, ma'am.
14:56Good morning, sir.
14:58May peace be upon you.
15:00May peace be upon you, too.
15:02It's not open, sir, but it's here, sir.
15:05That's why there are things like that.
15:07Yes, sir.
15:08It's not open, sir, but it's here, sir.
15:11That's why there are things like that.
15:13Yes, sir.
15:15These are broken.
15:18That's why you put it here.
15:20Because if it's not there, we can't go out, sir.
15:23Or we can't go to my children's school.
15:26I just stay here at home.
15:28You just keep an eye on it.
15:30Because if there's no one to keep an eye on it, even the water.
15:33So when it's not here, they just do this.
15:35Yes, yes, yes.
15:37And now, even this, there are things like that.
15:40There.
15:42They know where to put it.
15:44Yes, because they can smell it, sir.
15:46To prove the presence of the residents,
15:49we put a camera trap inside Rasmina's house.
15:56We also waited for the water to come down from the well.
15:59A few moments later,
16:04it slowly entered Rasmina's house.
16:18The so-called suspect of the residents
16:22is a monkey.
16:23But he's not alone in attacking the houses inside.
16:54Bora Otan is the leader of the group.
17:02He's the in command.
17:05Their target?
17:09Another house.
17:24And they'll slowly enter it.
17:35Inside,
17:37they're looking at every item they see.
17:44What they'll take with them,
17:47aside from being a lookout,
17:49is to rely on the food that falls from the house.
17:54But if you look at them,
17:56it's like they're being pulled to the ground,
18:00to the marsh itself.
18:02They're picking it up one by one,
18:04then directly to the water.
18:06It's like they're really kids,
18:08their behavior.
18:10The monkey's target?
18:12It's careful that it just looks around.
18:14But they're also prepared to risk their lives for food.
18:38To the liking of the residents who can't take it anymore,
18:42they're also prepared to fight.
18:45He put his hand in here,
18:47then I put a rope.
18:49He pulled the rice, he rolled it.
18:52I put a rope in here,
18:54then when he put his hand in,
18:56I pulled it.
18:58Then he ran away.
19:00We don't want you to kill him.
19:02The truth is,
19:04the victim was a monkey.
19:06He was chosen
19:08to be the leader of the group.
19:11He lost his right hand because of the trap.
19:23What decision did the people here make?
19:26Nothing, sir.
19:28Because we're also afraid
19:30because if we get bitten one day,
19:32we'll get sick, sir.
19:37If it's this late,
19:39he won't be able to sleep.
19:41If they're able to sleep,
19:43the monkeys will come up.
19:45The food needs to be secured.
19:48Because the monkeys are considered pests in the area,
19:51the residents asked for help from the local government.
19:55The LGO Tipu-Tipu issued a resolution
19:59to ask for the monkeys to be removed from their area.
20:03The problem with the people here
20:05is that some monkeys have already entered their houses,
20:07they're already eating,
20:09and their plants are being eaten by the monkeys.
20:14We don't have an alternative, ma'am,
20:16because in the religion of Islam,
20:18they can't be eaten.
20:20So that's their solution,
20:22that if it's possible,
20:24we should just collect them if we can approve it, ma'am.
20:28There's still a lot of research
20:30that needs to be done
20:32to ensure that the monkeys are properly controlled.
20:35But while there's still no clear solution,
20:38the LGOs need a longer apology
20:42and a deeper understanding
20:44of why the monkeys are being forced to live with humans.
20:49They're just sharing a space
20:51that they used to live in.
20:54We're just sharing too.
20:57I'm Dr. Ferdz Resho.
20:59I'm Dr. Nielsen Donato.
21:00Dr. Nielsen Donato,
21:02we choose the environment.