Aired on March 30, 2025: A mysterious giant shadow has been spotted lurking in the waters of Linapacan, Palawan. What creature could it be? Meanwhile, on Dinagat Island, residents are raising concerns as their local wildlife faces life-threatening dangers due to mining. Watch the full episode!
‘Born to be Wild’ is GMA Network’s groundbreaking environmental and wildlife show hosted by resident veterinarians Doc Nielsen Donato and Doc Ferds Recio. #BornToBeWild #GMAPublicAffairs #GMANetwork
Watch it every Sunday, 9 AM on GMA
Network. Subscribe to youtube.com/gmapublicaffairs for our full episodes.
‘Born to be Wild’ is GMA Network’s groundbreaking environmental and wildlife show hosted by resident veterinarians Doc Nielsen Donato and Doc Ferds Recio. #BornToBeWild #GMAPublicAffairs #GMANetwork
Watch it every Sunday, 9 AM on GMA
Network. Subscribe to youtube.com/gmapublicaffairs for our full episodes.
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00:00This is it! This is it! Oh my God!
00:05This is it! This is it!
00:08This is Dudong! Oh my God!
00:15He's just going around here.
00:17If you'll observe, he'll go to the deeper part.
00:21He'll go and then he'll cross to the bottom.
00:30We saw an accident on our way.
00:33It's just new.
00:34A rat snake.
00:36A few moments later.
00:38There it is.
00:39It's a small Philippine viper.
00:43It's still young.
00:44This is the first pit viper we saw.
00:50Freshwater shrimp.
00:51It's ready to defend itself against the enemy.
00:55But on their island,
00:57there's something scary.
01:10The ocean of Linapakan.
01:13The ocean of Linapakan.
01:24It's being watched by its own people.
01:28In this form, it's usually a viper.
01:36Its presence on the ocean
01:38has been seen by fishermen on the island for more than four months.
01:55Almost four years since the local government unit declared
01:58the Linapakan Marine Protected Area as one of their islands.
02:03There's a huge creature that seems to be guarding their ocean.
02:10The viper.
02:17To unravel its mystery in their place,
02:22we'll search their ocean
02:24to face and catch the vipers.
02:27The vipers.
02:33They feel and see the vipers every morning and afternoon.
02:38They watch it from the boat.
02:43That's why we immediately flew our drone to look for the vipers.
02:52It's dangerous.
02:53That's why we need to be careful in our search.
02:58Here it is! Here it is!
02:59Oh, my God!
03:00Here it is!
03:02Here's the viper! Oh, my God!
03:11What is a viper?
03:13It's just another viper.
03:18Vipers are herbivores.
03:20They eat grass.
03:23They are one of the indicators of a healthy seagrass bed in the ocean.
03:28That's why they are also called the gardener of the sea.
03:31The vipers are also known as Dugong here in Linapakan.
03:36To catch the vipers,
03:39the underwater cameramen are the first to dive.
03:46Under the sea, there are several vipers.
03:50The viper is just here.
03:53If you observe it,
03:55it will go to a deeper place.
03:58Then it will cross to the bottom.
04:01It doesn't stop.
04:03I don't know what it's going to do.
04:06The movements and behaviors of this viper are very different.
04:20For more than 17 years in Born to be Wild,
04:23we have tried many times to catch the vipers.
04:27Most of the time,
04:29we were able to catch it from a distance.
04:33This is so much fun!
04:36This is probably the third or fourth time that I've seen a viper.
04:42The first one was in Mati.
04:43We saw several vipers there.
04:45And then in Aban, and then the mother and calf.
04:49And then this one.
04:51But it still feels different
04:53when you see a living viper
04:56swimming in its natural habitat.
05:01It's laying eggs.
05:02It's free to live.
05:03It still feels different.
05:06I hope there will be more vipers here.
05:11Vipers are hard to catch.
05:14The vipers are also here.
05:16That's why every time the divers come to catch the vipers,
05:20they have to be very careful.
05:23Until...
05:29There it is!
05:31Where is it?
05:37It's so big!
05:39It's so big!
05:41It's so big!
05:42It's so big!
05:44The vipers are watching and observing our group.
05:51It's just, she was always hanging out in the first three or four meters.
05:55And the visibility wasn't the best in that section.
05:59It's time for me to document the vipers.
06:03At times like this,
06:05let's try to find out if the vipers are here
06:08or let's check out why the vipers are coming here.
06:12Why did the vipers come here all of a sudden?
06:18It's time for me to think about what the vipers eat here.
06:26I have a theory.
06:28I went to the bottom of the sea
06:31where the vipers are.
06:34There's no food, no grass.
06:36It's all corals.
06:38And the grass that grows here
06:41is not what the vipers eat.
06:48They like this place because
06:51they don't get hurt here.
06:53It feels safe to be here.
06:56That's why they come here often on a regular basis.
07:01And if we maintain it that way, they will keep on coming.
07:05In November of last year,
07:08the vipers started to show up here.
07:11The vipers that we caught with a drone
07:14has a long beak on its back.
07:16We saw a viper with a beak on its back.
07:23We thought that it might pass by a small boat.
07:29So to protect the vipers,
07:31the vipers made a resolution in their barangay.
07:36We prohibit small boats from sailing
07:40so that they won't get hurt.
07:42We showed the videos that we captured
07:45to a marine biologist, Dr. Lem Aragones.
07:48Dr. Lem thought that the vipers come here
07:52because of the rope of their beak.
07:55When the skin of the vipers' beak is cut,
07:57the vipers will adapt to the skin of their beak.
08:03So in that sense,
08:05that's the function of the vipers,
08:07to make the vipers go around the rope.
08:11But the ropes in the bay are also dangerous for the vipers.
08:15If the vipers are caught in the net or in the water,
08:19they won't be able to swim or rest,
08:21and they can drown.
08:23Currently, the local government is studying
08:25how to protect the vipers.
08:29And how to benefit from tourism, according to Lovelin,
08:33one of the local marine observers.
08:35Our plan now, ma'am,
08:38is to have a floating cottage
08:41so that our barangay can earn money.
08:45For the residents,
08:47the sudden appearance of the vipers
08:49is a blessing.
08:52Even though it's a blessing that can be considered a blessing,
08:56it's still important to do the right thing here,
09:01especially if you plan to use it for tourism.
09:05Because of a wrong step,
09:07the vipers might be thrown far away.
09:11Here it is!
09:13It's so big!
09:15For more than 17 years,
09:18we have seen the beauty and the living condition of the vipers.
09:27It's very important to pay attention to our environment.
09:33In the upcoming election this May,
09:36listen and watch the crisis that the country is facing.
09:40We have seen how severe the effects of the vipers are on us.
09:47Just like deforestation,
09:49climate change problems,
09:52water problems.
09:58How can we ensure and protect
10:01that we still have a healthy ocean
10:04that we can reach?
10:07Our laws are still a bit weak
10:10regarding the protection of our wildlife.
10:13Some of the places where the vipers have been tested,
10:17when it comes to the environment,
10:19their fight is already critical.
10:25As a viper,
10:27we have to protect our environment.
10:30We have to protect our environment.
10:33We have to protect our environment.
10:36We have to protect our environment.
10:38We have to protect our environment.
10:41We have to protect our environment.
10:45We need politicians who are an iron fist to say,
10:50this has to stop.
10:53Stop illegal hunting,
10:55stop illegal wildlife trade,
10:57and destroying their environment.
11:00The campaign for the safety
11:03should be heard by every voter and government.
11:07Voters,
11:09we are with you.
11:18Just last night,
11:21we saw an accident on the road.
11:24It's big.
11:26It's just new.
11:28A rat snake.
11:30We can't see its head anymore.
11:32We'll take out the food.
11:34Oh my God, it's a rat.
11:37It's a rat.
11:39But this is not the only dark story
11:42on the islands of Dinagat.
11:48Before it gets dark,
11:50the vipers are getting ready.
11:55There are others who are still sleeping,
12:00until they think of finding a way to survive.
12:07This wolf snake
12:09has already begun
12:11to look for food.
12:15If you're diligent,
12:17you'll be lucky.
12:20But it looks like
12:22the food for the wolf snake is scarce.
12:29Let's hide first.
12:32Meanwhile,
12:34the freshwater shrimp
12:36is just relaxing
12:40using its long claws.
12:43It's ready to defend itself against the enemy.
12:47This is how Mark
12:49often sees and catches
12:51in their watershed.
12:53A resident
12:55who loves to take pictures of snakes.
12:58Through his pictures,
13:00he is getting to know
13:02the people living on the island.
13:07We are in an isolated island
13:10called Dinagat Island.
13:12We have Mark with us.
13:14He's our guide.
13:16Just a few moments later.
13:18There it is.
13:20It's a small Philippine viper.
13:23It's still young.
13:25This is the first pit viper we've seen.
13:27It looks like it's in good condition.
13:30Wow!
13:32You can feel the heat
13:34in my face.
13:36This is how it hunts.
13:38You can feel the heat.
13:40See?
13:42You can feel the heat.
13:48Mark was asked
13:50about the snakes.
13:52The snakes are black.
13:54They are
13:55killed by humans.
13:58There are many snakes
14:00that are black.
14:02There's the
14:04Banacon.
14:06It's still young.
14:08It's black.
14:12Until we saw
14:14the black snake.
14:16It's a wolf snake.
14:18As you can see,
14:20I caught it right away
14:22because I knew it wouldn't be able to hunt.
14:23This behavior
14:25is natural.
14:27It's trying to escape.
14:29It's moving around.
14:31Look at that.
14:33It's a beautiful wolf snake.
14:35It released a smelly mask.
14:37The only wolf snakes I've seen
14:39have white heads
14:41but this one is pure black.
14:43Don't try to imitate me
14:45because you might regret it later.
14:47It's dangerous.
14:49You should hold it lightly
14:51so it won't run away.
14:53Don't eat its nails
14:55or its feet.
14:57Okay, bye.
14:59As the night deepens,
15:04we saw something
15:06in the watershed.
15:08What did you catch?
15:10Wow!
15:12It's a juvenile
15:14sailfin lizard.
15:16It's color is blueish.
15:18Normally, it's green
15:20but this one is blue
15:22and it's playing dead.
15:25Ouch!
15:27Ouch!
15:29It's biting.
15:31It's biting is very powerful.
15:33But usually,
15:35this is the age
15:37when it eats insects.
15:39The true beauty of the island
15:41can be seen in the morning
15:43but
15:45it's different from ours.
15:48The island
15:49is under threat
15:51of destruction.
15:53The province is included
15:55in the declared mineral reserve
15:57of the Philippines.
15:59This is where the nickel
16:01and other minerals
16:03used to make cell phones
16:05and laptops.
16:07According to the Department
16:09of Environment and Natural Resources
16:11in Dinagat Islands,
16:13there is no declared watershed
16:15on the island.
16:17There is a community watershed
16:19and conservation measures.
16:21At present,
16:23only 24 barangays
16:25in Dinagat have such an ordinance.
16:27However,
16:29the number of companies
16:31who live on the island
16:33is increasing
16:35to more than 60
16:37and possibly more.
16:39That's why the residents
16:41want to protect
16:43their forest and watershed.
16:45This is where they get
16:47their drinking water.
16:49There are more
16:51and more of these
16:53than their community watershed.
16:55That's why
16:57every step
16:59in mining
17:01should be considered.
17:03Human rights
17:05and access to fresh water
17:07should be fought.
17:09Why is it declared
17:11as a mineral reserve?
17:13Let's not talk about that.
17:15The time has changed
17:17and the direction has changed
17:19from what was provided for
17:21way back at the time
17:23when we didn't talk about
17:25biodiversity.
17:27With the help of PENCAS,
17:29the islands of Dinagat
17:31will be saved
17:33so that it won't be destroyed
17:35due to mining.
17:37This is a law
17:39that was passed in 2024
17:41to determine
17:43the importance
17:45of other parts
17:47of nature.
17:49It's beneficial to us.
17:51It's also in the law
17:53that nature has the right
17:55to exist.
17:58Environmental impact assessment
18:00or monitoring
18:02of mines
18:04is also included here.
18:06It's stated in PD 1151 section 4
18:08that we should look
18:10at alternatives
18:12to mining.
18:14The Environmental Management Bureau
18:16will decide
18:17which half of the islands
18:19will be mined.
18:21Philippine Mining Development
18:23Corporation
18:25is one of the miners
18:27in Dinagat Islands.
18:29What we are doing
18:31to secure
18:33or have a plan
18:35for biodiversity
18:37is to undergo
18:39permitting process.
18:41Not only permitting process
18:43in the DNR
18:45or other LGUs,
18:47but also permitting
18:49from the community.
18:51We will distance
18:53from 3 kilometers away
18:55or more
18:57from the protected areas.
18:59In mining,
19:01we have a sustainable
19:03mining practices.
19:05After mining,
19:07you should return
19:09to this state.
19:11We tried to get
19:13the DNR Central
19:15but they don't have
19:17the permit.
19:20Mark hopes
19:22that he can solve
19:24his fear of losing
19:26his island from mining.
19:28For him,
19:30every life is precious.
19:32There is a place
19:34that can be considered as his home
19:36whether it's an animal
19:38or a human.
19:40Mining is
19:42the property
19:44of animals.
19:48The role of officials
19:50in the government
19:52is important
19:54especially because
19:56they are responsible
19:58for the law
20:00that is balanced
20:02for the needs
20:04of the living
20:06and the people
20:08who live
20:10in these islands.
20:14Thank you for watching
20:15Born to be Wild.
20:17For more stories
20:19about our nature,
20:21subscribe to the
20:23JMA Public Affairs
20:25YouTube channel.