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.
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