00:00The
00:06The
00:11The
00:18The
00:20The
00:27The
00:29Wow, it looks like it's in a mess
00:35But what it doesn't know
00:39There's something fishy
00:53These flying foxes are known as
00:55Kabilaw Sakuyunin
00:59They are looking for a place
01:01to rest
01:03after a long search for food
01:07It's time for them to rest
01:11Even though it's hot,
01:13they are still active
01:17Their eyes
01:19really make you sleepy
01:23So no matter how hard they try
01:25Kabilaw will make
01:27its mate
01:29jump
01:37Some of them
01:39can't do anything
01:41no matter how hard they try
01:45Especially when they need
01:47enough space
01:49to rest
01:55They are its instant electric fan
01:59Even though some of them
02:01are comfortable in their place
02:03there's another neighbor
02:05complaining
02:11The people
02:15The ones who live here
02:17are the cows
02:19behind Arlan's house
02:21The bats
02:23The bats you see here
02:25When did you first notice them?
02:27It's been a long time
02:29Almost 8 or 12 years
02:31With the increase of people
02:33What's the reason?
02:35Where do you think they came from?
02:37I don't know
02:39When there's more people here
02:41maybe there's more people
02:43on other islands
02:45With the increase of Kabilaw
02:47their community is louder
02:49When I wake up in the morning
02:51I hear their voices
02:53In search of a place
02:55the Kabilaw
02:57doesn't want to be defeated
03:01But it looks like
03:03the Kabilaw is in a loop
03:05with other bats
03:11In 2018
03:13residents noticed
03:15the increase of flying foxes
03:17in Lilapakan, Palawan
03:21I asked them
03:23where they came from
03:25and why they chose this place
03:27I went to the roosting site
03:29of the Kabilaw
03:31There are bats here
03:33They say
03:35they can see millions
03:37I think I'm the only one
03:39who can see them
03:41because I can't hide them
03:43from the leaves
03:45At the home of the Kabilaw
03:47we noticed
03:49that the Kabilaw
03:51has neighbors
03:53who lost their lives
03:55Why do you have a trap?
03:57Remove it
03:59Why do you have mist nets?
04:01Do you want to catch something?
04:03The bats are pitiful
04:05They might get stuck
04:07Remove it
04:09Remove it
04:11Remove it
04:13Remove it
04:15Remove it
04:17It has rabies
04:19It's sick
04:21You can't take care of it
04:23because it bites
04:25They have pests
04:27They might get sick
04:29when people eat them
04:31So you have to let them
04:33They have nothing to do with us
04:35Actually,
04:37they are one of the tree's helpers
04:39as a seed disperser
04:41so that it will grow more
04:43They are like fruit-eating bats
04:45They also help
04:47in seed dispersing
04:49Maybe that's why
04:51you have more trees here
04:53because of the bats
04:55When they eat it,
04:57they will eat it
04:59Of course, the seed is there
05:01You can plant it in the mountains
05:03They can help you in planting
05:05In the morning, it's peaceful
05:07But when it's dark,
05:09the residents are
05:11getting suspicious
05:13There are a lot of bugs
05:15when it's dirty
05:17It stings
05:19If you're outside,
05:21you'll get dirty
05:23If I'm here,
05:25I'll get dirty
05:27Every night,
05:29this is their situation
05:31with the bats
05:33The residents are getting suspicious
05:35They have nothing to do
05:37because it's part of their job
05:39When it's dark,
05:41we saw the bats
05:43coming out
05:45We could feel
05:47their droppings
05:49That's why people
05:51get lost
05:53They say it's only
05:5530 minutes
05:57After that,
05:59most bats will come out
06:01In the meantime,
06:03let's go inside
06:07It could be damaged
06:09or their roosting areas
06:11are reduced
06:13compared to their
06:15earlier habitat
06:17Their food supply
06:19could be depleted
06:21These flying foxes
06:23eat fruits
06:25Since they don't have food
06:27in their old roosting area,
06:29they will move
06:31There could be diseases
06:33from their dirt
06:35like histoplasmosis
06:37It's a type of infection
06:39that could be caused
06:41by the spores of fungus
06:43in their roosting areas
06:45In Thailand,
06:47this is also the situation
06:49where the residents
06:51live together
06:53in the same place
06:55Our team went to a place
06:57in Thailand
06:59It looks like this
07:01There's a community,
07:03cows, mountains, and bats
07:05They conducted a study
07:07where if the bats
07:09come back,
07:11that's the time when they
07:13gather in one area
07:15They put plastic bags
07:17The goal is to collect
07:19the droppings
07:21They found out
07:23that the bats
07:25are positive for nipah virus
07:27One of the head of the research team
07:29of Chonburi Anthropologist
07:31is Dr. Supaporn Watcharap Lusadi
07:33They want to discover
07:35some of the possible diseases
07:37from bats that could
07:39infect humans
07:41For example,
07:43they could go back to the pandemic
07:45and how to avoid it
07:47Bats are
07:49the natural reservoirs
07:51for many emerging
07:53infectious diseases
07:55For example, nipah virus in
07:57Asia, corona virus
07:59is a very important
08:01because it's part
08:03of the early detection
08:05Based on their study,
08:07some people got positive
08:09for nipah virus from the
08:11bat droppings they collected
08:13in Chonburi
08:15One of their mission
08:17is to let the community
08:19know and understand this
08:23So even though the residents
08:25know that this disease is possible
08:27they are still blessed
08:29This is what part of
08:31my education to
08:33the community
08:35that how to live
08:37safely with bat
08:59For the past 100 years,
09:01bats have not moved
09:03from this temple
09:05and for the past 100 years
09:07they did not show
09:09their presence
09:11Thank you so much
09:13for watching Born To Be Wild
09:15For more stories about
09:17our nature,
09:19please subscribe to
09:21JMA Public Affairs YouTube Channel
Comments