Aired(August 3, 2024): Bukod sa Philippine Eagle, mayaman ang Pilipinas sa mga naglalakihang ibon na naghahari sa langit.
Alamin ang iba’t iba pang klase ng raptors sa pinakabagong dokumentaryo ni Howie Severino para sa #IWitness ngayong Sabado, 10:15 PM sa GMA!
#iBenteSingko
Alamin ang iba’t iba pang klase ng raptors sa pinakabagong dokumentaryo ni Howie Severino para sa #IWitness ngayong Sabado, 10:15 PM sa GMA!
#iBenteSingko
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FunTranscript
00:00In the world of birds, they sometimes have a habit of biting people.
00:17Like this family.
00:24The words of the parents about feeding and their pets.
00:44But this is not a story about ordinary birds.
00:47We dream of seeing the biggest bird in our country.
00:57That's why we were accompanied by a team of birdwatchers.
01:07There, it's beautiful!
01:17The biggest bird in the country is now known as Madla.
01:31Because it's the one who replaced the bird in our backyard.
01:36But it's still rare to see a Philippine Eagle alive.
01:42But there's one place where this eagle's sighting is unique.
01:48Here at the Philippine Eagle Center, we will give access to some places that are a bit dangerous.
01:56Because these birds are sensitive to diseases.
02:00We might bring germs from outside.
02:05That's why one requirement before entering is to bathe and wear scrubs.
02:14Game!
02:20Jason! How is the merino?
02:22Welcome! We're very happy that you're back.
02:24Thank you.
02:25After 20 years.
02:26Or more, maybe.
02:27Maybe.
02:28You're still a citizen.
02:29Correct.
02:30Why did we take a shower?
02:32Why did we take a shower?
02:34All of us, including the cameraman.
02:36Yes, exactly.
02:37So, we are doing this because of the threats of exotic diseases such as bird flu, Newcastle's disease,
02:45the fungal disease of aspergillosis.
02:49So, potentially people from outside can bring these viruses, bacteria.
02:55The Philippine Eagle Center in Davao is a breeding and rescue facility for the Philippine eagles.
03:03Their goal is to protect and breed their species.
03:15Here we go, Boxing Eagle.
03:17One of our most famous eagles at the Philippine Eagle Center.
03:21That might be the most famous eagle in the world now, no?
03:27In 2017, Vigo was picked up by wildlife photographer Floyd Bermejo.
03:33And he was the one who won 1,000 pesos.
03:37We do free flight outside the field.
03:39And the wildlife photographer was lucky.
03:44So, it was really a great opportunity for the photographer
03:47to get a close-up of the bird without a screen around.
03:52So, he got some good shots there.
03:55Vigo is now 14 years old.
03:57And he has a so-called wife.
04:00But she is not a bird.
04:04I am his human surrogate mate.
04:06I am his wife.
04:07So, it's a male.
04:08Because we tried to introduce female before I imprinted this bird.
04:13So, it means that this eagle is imprinted towards me as a keeper.
04:19So, the Philippine Eagle is a very loyal animal.
04:22It will only have one partner for the rest of its life.
04:25They are monogamous.
04:26So, they stick to one.
04:27So, once it is imprinted,
04:29it can no longer be separated from its partner.
04:33So, it is a very loyal animal.
04:35So, it is a very loyal animal.
04:37So, it is a very loyal animal.
04:39So, once it is imprinted,
04:40it can no longer be separated from its partner.
04:44For Vigo to breed,
04:46he has to get seeds for their artificial insemination program.
04:57The Philippine Eagle is one of the endemic raptors in the Philippines.
05:02It is only found in our country.
05:04It is widely known in the Filipino language.
05:07It is half the size of the raptors or big birds.
05:14The raptors are carnivorous or eat other animals.
05:18Bird of prey.
05:22The Philippine Eagle can reach up to 3 feet in height.
05:26And the wingspan is up to 7 feet.
05:30And the wingspan is up to 7 feet.
05:34Its eyes are 8 times clearer than that of humans.
05:39So, we know that the Philippine Eagle is the ultimate predator
05:43of the Philippine Tropical Forest,
05:45the apex predator.
05:46We don't have lions, we don't have tigers,
05:49the typical large carnivores.
05:51But we have a very beautiful,
05:53a highly Filipino Philippine Eagle as our apex predator.
06:01There are more than 30 Philippine Eagles
06:04in the care of the Philippine Eagle Foundation.
06:11They feed on different types of meat,
06:14such as rabbit, goat, and goat.
06:19But not chicken or any other bird
06:22to avoid the spread of the disease.
06:31One egg every two years
06:33if the number of Philippine Eagles in the forest increases.
06:38This is how long it takes for parents to raise their children.
06:46There are only 392 Philippine Eagle spouses
06:50living in the forest on the planet.
06:52There are probably more chickens in the forest
06:57than the number of Philippine Eagles in the whole country.
07:00In the whole world?
07:01In the whole world, exactly.
07:03And if you say critically endangered,
07:05it also means if we don't do something within this generation,
07:08there's a 50% chance that the eagle will get extinct.
07:12And critically endangered also means
07:15we're really losing our forests
07:17because Philippine Eagles are very much forest-dependent.
07:22Philippine Eagles live in captivity for 30 to 40 years.
07:28This is shorter if they are in the forest.
07:32They need 4 to 11,000 hectares of forest
07:36to be able to catch enough food.
07:40As our forests continue to run out,
07:43their world is shrinking
07:45and they are getting closer to extinction.
07:50This July, a Philippine Eagle was shot
07:53in Davao de Oro.
07:55It was brought back to life and tried to be treated.
07:59But it also died due to serious injuries.
08:04This is the fourth Philippine Eagle victim
08:07to be shot this year alone.
08:14As the campaign continues,
08:17the Philippine Eagle Foundation continues to campaign
08:20to stop the extinction of their species,
08:25even if they depend on donations.
08:30We're actually running a capital campaign.
08:32We need at least P9 million to establish
08:36new cages and additional infrastructure
08:42for the 12 Philippine Eagles.
08:44So that's a priority.
08:46And then of course,
08:49funds to do more education campaigns
08:53and then for community-based projects.
08:57Because one of the threats to the Philippine Eagles
08:59is shooting and hunting and trapping of Philippine Eagles.
09:10The Philippine Eagles Foundation
09:12has a lot to say about the Philippine Eagles.
09:15So right now, we have a group of elementary students
09:19and they're part of the field trip.
09:21And then we're trying to engage them
09:23to instill environmental values
09:26and then a deeper appreciation with wildlife.
09:34A white-bellied sea eagle showed up.
09:38This is the second largest raptor or hawk in the country,
09:43followed by the Philippine Eagle.
09:45The sea eagle noticed their claws first
09:49because that's the main weapon of the raptors,
09:52their talons to hunt their prey.
09:58This is the Pinsker's Hawk Eagle,
10:01also known as the South Philippine Hawk Eagle.
10:06Another endemic.
10:08So, what's the story of this bird?
10:11What's its name? Where does it come from?
10:13So, its parents are sea sharks because it's also captive bred.
10:17So, it's one of the captive bred Pinsker's Hawk Eagle
10:20or South Philippine Hawk Eagle.
10:24And there are only a few of them?
10:26Only a few.
10:28That's why they became endangered.
10:33There are only six of them in the country.
10:39The last bird I saw near here
10:42was someone I already knew.
10:45Cloud, a Serpent Eagle.
10:48This is what you see in Taal Lake.
10:53But we can't get close to it there.
10:58Its feathers are beautiful.
11:01Look at the patterns on its beak.
11:04Anything special about the Serpent Eagle?
11:06Does it make it different?
11:07By its name, Serpent,
11:09because their favorite food is serpents
11:12or reptiles, especially snakes.
11:15So, they are one of the ones who control biologically
11:18the populations of our snakes.
11:20Even cobras.
11:21They eat cobras or they hunt cobras.
11:27The Philippine Eagle Center reminds us
11:29that there are different kinds of hawks in the country
11:31aside from the one in the money.
11:33So, when I get back to Luzon,
11:35I'll ask if I can see them.
11:42I'm with a birder named Albert Abatisio.
11:46Albert, how far are we going?
11:4830 minutes.
11:52Birders are called bird watchers.
11:56We're going to the tip of Sierra Madre
11:58in the Philippines.
12:00We're going to the tip of Sierra Madre in Luzon
12:03where other bird photographers went.
12:07It's less than an hour away from Metro Manila.
12:13It's only been a few days
12:15and Albert caught a rare bird here.
12:20A Serpent Eagle
12:22that's still hiding in the bushes.
12:25What I do, sir, is I just drive around
12:29and slow down the speed of the car.
12:34And then, when I see something,
12:36because usually the night jars are just on the road,
12:40so I just stop.
12:42And then, from the car, I just take pictures.
12:45When we were just arriving at the place,
12:47suddenly, someone showed up.
12:50What kind of bird is that?
12:52That is...
12:54It's like a Serpent Eagle.
12:56It's like a Serpent Eagle, sir.
12:58Let's go.
13:06Let's go, sir.
13:09Did you see it?
13:11Yes.
13:12That's why you left.
13:13Even though we're so far away,
13:15we're still here.
13:20Not far from where we're standing,
13:22a subdivision is currently being built.
13:26So, actually, that's one of the big threats
13:30to our local wildlife,
13:33the habitat destruction, so to speak.
13:36And this is exactly one of the reasons
13:38why the primary forest is disappearing.
13:41So, when we develop it,
13:43we put in human settlements,
13:45we put in farms.
13:47If we don't consider the needs of our wildlife,
13:51naturally, they will leave.
13:54How did you feel when you first caught
13:57and saw the Philippine Serpent Eagle?
14:01When you see such a big, beautiful bird
14:07that you don't usually hear or see,
14:11it's really a surreal moment.
14:14When he was young, Albert loved birds.
14:17And it became his passion to capture them.
14:24He already caught more than 200 kinds of birds.
14:32Even though we didn't catch the Serpent Eagle,
14:35other birds came to us.
14:39They're trying to catch the Philippine Kukal
14:43that's over there.
14:45We can see it flying around.
14:48Maybe it's looking for food.
14:52Some of the Philippine Kukal are albino.
14:56But the Serpent Eagle is still flying around.
15:01Albert also caught a picture of it.
15:09We were about to go home
15:11when we suddenly saw Albert.
15:15Albert is a Philippine Serpent Eagle
15:18that lives in the Philippines.
15:25We're walking on the street.
15:27As you can see, there's still traffic,
15:31but it's right next to the road.
15:36We saw the roots of the Black-Naped Monarch species.
15:45Because of the black color on the back of its head,
15:48it's called the Black-Naped Monarch.
15:51It's one of the most colorful flycatchers in the country.
15:57We were about to leave,
16:01but it left right away
16:03to look for food for the two insects.
16:07The male bird with the insects came back to him.
16:16But he only caught one.
16:23He waited for his wife to come back.
16:37When the female bird came back,
16:39it brought another insect.
16:49They kept doing this until the insects grew.
16:54But it was right next to the road
16:56and was in the reach of a human hand.
16:59I couldn't help but worry
17:01if they were still alive.
17:03So this particular nest looks vulnerable.
17:06Yes, actually, it's vulnerable.
17:09Because what I think happened,
17:11if you notice, some of the branches already fend from the tree.
17:15So maybe when they were nesting,
17:18it was higher.
17:20I mean, maybe it was covered.
17:22But maybe because of the recent rains and all that,
17:27it was covered.
17:30From our position,
17:32we saw other small and colorful birds.
17:37A striped-headed rhabdornis
17:41and a rufous-crowned beeater,
17:44both endemic.
17:46They kept the male bird in the nest.
17:51The male bird was the only one
17:53that was able to survive.
17:57They kept the small insect flying.
18:06Not far from their nest,
18:08a serpent eagle was spotted
18:10in the house of Quenca in Batangas.
18:15We have a next destination.
18:26Alain Pascua has been a bird photographer for two decades.
18:30Until now,
18:32he continues to photograph the dense forests.
18:36We are very happy to see Alain.
18:44Alain is the president
18:46of Samahang Wild Bird Photographers of the Philippines.
18:50Being a photographer is accidental, actually.
18:54We need to produce an informational material
18:57about the conservation of Candaba Swamp.
19:00We were looking for photographs of wild birds.
19:03At that time,
19:04it was hard to get permission from foreign photographers.
19:08So we said,
19:09let's take a picture.
19:11That was the next step.
19:13After spending a lot of time in the forest,
19:16Alain fulfilled his dream.
19:21It's always the Philippine eagle,
19:23the holy grail of a bird photographer in the Philippines.
19:26Of course, it's really exciting,
19:28very exciting at that time.
19:30For more than a year,
19:32the Philippine eagle has been flying in the forest.
19:36From laying eggs,
19:38to growing and flying.
19:40How important is the Philippine eagle
19:44in terms of creating awareness
19:46about everything else in the wild?
19:49It's the starting point of the discussion.
19:52Especially,
19:53the Philippine eagle is our own keystone
19:56of all the species in the Philippines.
19:59From there,
20:00we can expand the discussion.
20:02Not only the Philippine eagle,
20:04there are other wildlife.
20:06His observation of the Philippine eagle
20:09was illustrated in a book.
20:12It started here,
20:14day minus one,
20:16when we saw it in the nest.
20:18Just the parents.
20:20Then,
20:21we saw there was an egg.
20:24There was an egg.
20:28At 411,
20:30it's the day when it fled.
20:32When we say it fled,
20:34it already flew from the tree nest
20:36to another tree.
20:38But,
20:39it's still there.
20:41As long as it's not
20:43chased by its parents,
20:45it's still there.
20:47They teach it how to fly,
20:49teach it how to hunt.
20:51Unfortunately,
20:52that's what happened.
20:55Its father was shot.
20:58Here it is.
20:59It was shot 235 times.
21:02Last year,
21:03Sinabadan was shot.
21:08Three bullets of air gun
21:10were seen in its body.
21:13Sinabadan was saved
21:15by the Philippine Eagle Foundation.
21:17Sometimes,
21:18it's not because of the food,
21:20but because of the instinct of hunting.
21:22It's like you're just shooting.
21:24It's like a sport.
21:26Because of the rare eagle
21:28that's in our money,
21:30many were attracted
21:31to other kinds of birds in the Philippines.
21:34Like the serpent eagle,
21:35there's also one here
21:37in Taal Lake in Batangas.
21:40In the Batangas food source,
21:42someone climbed a tree
21:44and DNR immediately rescued it.
21:52Together with Alain
21:53and Kapwa Bird Photographers,
21:55Noel Lamela and Jops Tabaranza,
21:58we went to a high view deck
22:00in the basin.
22:02There are two.
22:03There's a small raptor behind it.
22:06It's going to fight.
22:08It's going to fight?
22:11It's not going to mate?
22:13No, it's small.
22:14It's going to mate.
22:15Huh? It's going to fight?
22:16Yes.
22:17Okay, I see it.
22:21We saw two raptors.
22:23One is a sea eagle
22:25and the other is a brahminy kite.
22:27The scene earlier was a bit exciting
22:29because they're not just looking for food in the water,
22:33but they seem to have a fight
22:35because of the territory.
22:37The raptors are territorial.
22:40In 2012, Alain's group was formed.
22:45It's a group that brings online
22:47the various beautiful birds in the country.
22:50It's like hunting,
22:52but you don't get your prize,
22:53the head of your animal.
22:56You get photographs.
22:58And when you get a photograph,
23:01you feel some kind of satisfaction.
23:04That's your trophy.
23:05If your photograph can help with awareness,
23:08that's another bonus for you.
23:23We're going down to the lake
23:25and we're going to go around there.
23:27Maybe we'll see something interesting.
23:38Let's go.
23:48What we didn't see up there
23:55came to us when we looked down.
24:04There's a mountain there.
24:07Not just one or two,
24:11but we counted five raptors together.
24:16A community of brahminy kites.
24:20It's like their roosting site or resting place.
24:26The brahminy kite is also known as the red-backed sea eagle.
24:32What they're going around is part of Taal Lake,
24:35which has the thickest forest.
24:38The mountain is steep and it's hard to build a house.
24:43That's why it seems like no one is bothering them here.
24:47If a person doesn't know what to protect,
24:50he won't love it.
24:52He doesn't care.
24:53But when he sees the different photographs,
24:56different videos,
24:57of how good-looking these birds are
25:00and what kind of help they do in the environment,
25:04people will have different opinions.
25:07We can imagine
25:09that when there are more people like Alain, Noel, and Joms
25:14who take home images like this,
25:17there's a chance that there will be more kings in heaven.
25:30In times of chaos,
25:32where will we find a solution?
25:35Where is hope?
25:40We learned that raptors are a sentinel species,
25:44a proof that there is a deep forest.
25:49In a mountainous country,
25:52the wildlife is a forest that will feed on us
25:55and other creatures.
25:58Let's increase the number of raptors
26:00until we don't have to go far to see them.
26:05Their home is the home of many others.
26:12From Baras, Rizal,
26:14Lungsod, Davao,
26:17and Taal Lake, Batangas,
26:19I am Howie Severino,
26:21and this is Eyewitness.
26:28Eyewitness
26:31A film by Howie Severino
26:33A film by Howie Severino
26:35A film by Howie Severino
26:37A film by Howie Severino
26:39A film by Howie Severino
26:41A film by Howie Severino
26:43A film by Howie Severino