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.
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