00:00In this forest, there is a mysterious creature that can climb trees quickly to escape the enemy.
00:17Its ability to change color is also very powerful.
00:25Is it really alive?
00:27Yes, it's alive.
00:28Do they have eggs?
00:30Yes.
00:31Why do they have eggs on the road?
00:33Here, you can see the eggs.
00:45It's dark and hard to see the Negros forest dragon.
00:51In fact, I've been trying to document the Negros forest dragon for more than 7 years.
00:58They can see the Negros forest dragon.
01:02You can see that it has a different look. It's reddish.
01:06Its back and the shape of its head is angular.
01:11In 2018, it was the first time that the Negros forest dragon was seen on television.
01:20In this mountain, there is a bigger version of the Negros forest dragon.
01:28That is our park that has a document.
01:32For a long time, it has been taking care of the mountain.
01:35The forest guide, Rommel, is in charge of putting up the boulders.
01:43Last time we went here, we were sweating like this.
01:48But now, finally, it's the season where they have eggs, hatching.
01:55It's hard to see them.
01:59The Negros forest dragon lives in an arboreal tree.
02:04That's why it's not easy to find them.
02:08We've been walking for a long time. We haven't seen anything yet.
02:11But here, Rommel usually sees the Negros forest dragon.
02:18After an hour of walking,
02:23Hey, there's one.
02:26Where?
02:27There, sir.
02:28Ah, okay.
02:29Because it's like it's camouflaging.
02:32Ah, okay.
02:33Because it's like it's camouflaging.
02:36It took me a long time to spot what Rommel was teaching.
02:39But this one, wow, its height.
02:43They're really like that.
02:44They're not tall, as you can see.
02:48But they're only 6 feet tall, sir Martin.
02:50Wow, look at this.
02:52Its color is very colorful.
02:54It's almost as colorful as the tree.
02:58And it's very close.
03:00This is our first adult Negros forest dragon.
03:05But it has some bumps on its back.
03:07Maybe it has eggs.
03:10The crest of a female forest dragon is larger than that of a male.
03:16We got a female gravid Negros forest dragon.
03:20Look at this.
03:21Its limbs are long and thin.
03:25Underneath, its colors are lighter.
03:33Look at those legs.
03:35It's designed to climb, to dig.
03:40Let's take a look at its teeth.
03:42It looks isolated.
03:44These are omnivores.
03:47It eats insects and sometimes vegetation.
03:55This is a Negros forest dragon.
03:57Usually, the spikes are for defense.
04:01Even its tail.
04:03If a predator catches it, it will be cut off.
04:06It's also their defense to escape from their enemies.
04:09But if it's cut off, they have the ability to regenerate their tail, which is called autotomy.
04:17We immediately put the Negros forest dragon back on the tree.
04:21Maybe that's why its color is like that.
04:24It's in the process of changing.
04:26We're so lucky to see an adult Negros forest dragon.
04:30But they say there's a bigger one here, twice its size.
04:34So we're going to let you go.
04:42There.
04:44This is a big one.
04:45A big one.
04:49The Negros forest dragon is a cold-blooded animal.
04:55That's why it's more active in the morning.
04:59It's favorite activity is basking.
05:04It's their way to regulate the temperature of their body.
05:11Later.
05:12Later.
05:13There, Doc. There's a bigger one.
05:16We saw a big Negros forest dragon hanging from a tree.
05:22There.
05:24This is a big one.
05:28These forest dragons don't really grow, but compared to the ones we've seen before,
05:34this is definitely a big one.
05:38It's like a juvenile iguana.
05:42It can grow up to 30 centimeters or the length of a ruler.
05:50Come on, we won't hurt you.
05:52Oh, there.
05:56Oh, my God.
05:57It's so big.
05:59Wow, this is how big it is.
06:03It has slender teeth, but it doesn't smell.
06:12Oh, wow.
06:14That's how strong it is.
06:16Just enough to crunch an insect.
06:19And that is their natural defense.
06:23My adrenaline was so high when I saw the Negros forest dragon.
06:29The Negros endemic lizard is so unique.
06:33And look at that.
06:35These are the pillars of its hemipenis.
06:40So, definitely, this is a male.
06:43These are the characteristics of lizards.
06:47An adult male forest dragon would reach about 13 3⁄4 in length.
06:56They use this as a balance.
06:59So, it's time to let you go.
07:00Sorry to bother you.
07:03Go, go, go.
07:05Twice a year, the Negros forest dragon lays eggs.
07:18And Romel is watching over its eggs.
07:25So, it's really buried in the ground.
07:26Yes, it's buried.
07:28That's how they lay eggs?
07:29Yes.
07:31But why did they lay their eggs in the middle of the road?
07:34Yes, in the middle of the road.
07:35We've seen many times that they lay their eggs in the middle of the road.
07:39Yes, that's it.
07:40It looks like its eggs are elongated.
07:42It looks like it's about to hatch.
07:45Let's take a look.
07:48It's clear.
07:51It means that it has no eggs.
07:53These are the hatched eggs.
07:56It looks like these are also hatched.
08:02This one hasn't hatched yet.
08:04But there's still no smell.
08:07Herpetologist or reptile expert, Dr. Arvin Jesmus, explains.
08:13It is said that the Negros forest dragon lay eggs near the house of this tree.
08:21Habitat decline is still number one.
08:24Most of our lowland forests are almost gone.
08:30The elevation is too high for our intact forests.
08:37It's not hard for the Negros forest dragon to grow in this forest
08:41because many insects live here.
08:47I've been waiting for a long time for the Negros forest dragon to be documented
08:52and at this time, there are males, females, and their eggs that I caught.
09:02This is an indication that the Negros forest dragon can freely reproduce
09:08despite being close to the community.
09:16Go, go, go.
09:23Thank you for watching Born to be Wild.
09:26For more stories about our nature,
09:30subscribe to the JMA Public Affairs YouTube channel.
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