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.
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