Aired (November 3, 2024): A group of fall armyworms infiltrated a corn farm in Silang, Cavite. How has these affected the livelihood of local residents? Find out with Doc Nielsen Donato. Meanwhile, mudskippers, typically found in clean coastal areas, were encountered in Tanza 1, Navotas City-- an area surrounded by trash from neighboring communities. How did this happen? Watch this video!
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00:00And without Harabas' knowledge,
00:03there's an intruder waiting for him at the bottom.
00:08He immediately attacks.
00:13At the sting of the spear,
00:15Harabas becomes weak.
00:20These Fall Army Worms are really strong.
00:23They go into the core of this plant.
00:26They eat the shoots.
00:30TUS-TUSAK
00:34Usually, we see TUS-TUSAK in places like the sea
00:38and the muddy areas.
00:42For example, this one.
00:45We're just wondering
00:47because we can also see TUS-TUSAK
00:50in places like this,
00:52where there's a lot of garbage.
00:54Maybe they live here
00:56because it's adequate
00:58for this place before the garbage arrived.
01:14In a vast corn field,
01:24there's an intruder.
01:28TUS-TUSAK
01:31They can't be noticed
01:35because they go inside when they attack.
01:42TUS-TUSAK
01:46There's not a single plant that wasn't affected by this Army Worm
01:49because all of them have a target.
01:52TUS-TUSAK
01:54Even though they're small,
01:56they carry a lot of corn.
02:00TUS-TUSAK
02:09If there's one thing
02:11that Fall Army Worms or Harabas like to do,
02:18it's eating.
02:24TUS-TUSAK
02:26This one,
02:28because of the amount of food,
02:30can't stop eating.
02:38Because he's full,
02:40he's looking for a place to rest.
02:47He didn't realize that he's already at the end of the plant.
02:55Until...
03:03Harabas didn't know
03:06that there's an intruder waiting for him downstairs.
03:14In the distance,
03:17a crow is looking for food.
03:25Later on,
03:27he noticed that Harabas has fallen.
03:32That's why he immediately attacked.
03:39Because there's only one enemy,
03:44Harabas managed to escape.
03:50But he won't stop.
03:54TUS-TUSAK
03:56Because of the sting of the crow,
03:59Harabas became weak.
04:05TUS-TUSAK
04:10Because of the sting of the crow,
04:13Harabas became weak.
04:19TUS-TUSAK
04:22But he kept on fighting.
04:33Harabas never stopped fighting.
04:39Until...
04:42he saw a plant.
04:45TUS-TUSAK
04:50From here,
04:52he's checking if the prey is still around.
05:01When he's sure that the prey is still around,
05:04he immediately went to the higher plant.
05:12Finally,
05:14Harabas managed to escape from the higher plant.
05:22In this story,
05:24Harabas is not the leader.
05:28Because the truth is,
05:30Harabas and TUS-TUSAK are enemies.
05:33Because Harabas
05:35are considered pests to corn.
05:38TUS-TUSAK
05:40The armyworm fell down.
05:44That's one.
05:45It's positive.
05:47It's in the core of this young plant.
05:53It's eating.
05:54They go into the core of this plant.
05:58They're eating the shoots.
06:01No plant was affected by this armyworm
06:04because all of them have a poison.
06:10TUS-TUSAK
06:13Father Doming has been planting corn for more than 4 decades.
06:18But it's been 4 years
06:21since their big problem started.
06:24It's been 4 years since the first armyworm came to us.
06:29Almost none of the corn came to me.
06:32Because I should have
06:3450 to 60 catties of corn.
06:37I only got 6 catties of corn.
06:40Father Doming lost more than Php 50,000
06:44from the fall armyworms
06:47or Harabas to his corn.
06:49This experiment is new.
06:52It was only in 2019
06:54that the presence of fall armyworms was detected.
06:58And his target is corn.
07:04June 2019 in Cagayan.
07:06The first fall armyworms were detected in the Philippines.
07:10It came from tropical areas in the United States.
07:14And eventually, it arrived in Asia.
07:19To date, it has affected 76 provinces in the country
07:24and more than 100,000 farmers.
07:29Even though insecticide was used,
07:32Harabas did not die.
07:35This armyworm is still alive.
07:37Even though they were sprayed with insecticide,
07:40it can hatch 100 to 400 eggs per adult moth.
07:47Because of their huge size,
07:50even though they are of the same species,
07:53they cannot survive.
08:00Fall armyworms have cannibalistic behavior.
08:05The bigger the Harabas,
08:07the less food it will eat
08:12until it is completely depleted.
08:18After the larva stage,
08:21they will go down to the ground to become pupae.
08:24And they will come out when a moth hatches.
08:27At this stage,
08:29they can lay eggs and reproduce.
08:32The whole life cycle of fall armyworms
08:35lasts for almost a month.
08:38That's why they reproduce so fast.
08:43To stop their proliferation,
08:46predators such as birds and other insects help.
08:53The Department of Agriculture's solution
08:56to control their proliferation
08:59is crop rotation or replacement of crops.
09:02If it cannot be controlled,
09:04because the farmer's cultural management is wrong,
09:07our recommendation would be
09:09not to plant crops for 3 years.
09:12But you know,
09:13the farmer's goal is to earn money.
09:17We don't have other jobs.
09:20We don't have other crops to plant.
09:23Because like other crops,
09:26they cost a lot.
09:28We can't afford to spend that much.
09:32The government also supports
09:34genetically modified corn
09:36that is resistant to fall armyworms.
09:40It can help to stop
09:42the proliferation of fall armyworms.
09:49Even if they have a large crop,
09:53the small larvae
09:56just want to eat and live.
10:02I hope the time will come
10:04when the number of larvae will be balanced
10:09with the help of biological control
10:11and predators
10:14so that they will not be a problem
10:16for the farmers.
10:19Fish
10:24They live in an unusual way
10:26compared to other fish.
10:38These fish can live on land
10:43and are often seen in clean waters.
10:48It's as if they don't belong to us.
10:53Because the homes of mudskippers
10:59are surrounded by mud.
11:04Mudskippers
11:17When the water level reaches the ground,
11:21the mudskippers jump out one by one.
11:24This is how the mudskipper jumps out
11:26using his beak.
11:29This is his way
11:31to show off to the mudskipper.
11:38The mudskippers are common
11:40in places like the sea
11:42where there is a muddy area.
11:45For example,
11:47the mudskipper jumps out
11:49and shows off
11:52like this.
11:54But usually,
11:56we see them in clean areas.
12:00But the mudskippers' fate
12:02is different in a coastal area
12:04in Nagota City.
12:07We are a bit surprised
12:09because we can also see mudskippers
12:11in places like this
12:13where there is a lot of garbage.
12:16Maybe they live here
12:18because it's adequate
12:20or because this place used to be
12:22clean before the garbage arrived.
12:34The garbage comes from the houses
12:36usually sachets, sandals,
12:38and wooden objects
12:41that drifted from the sea
12:43to this place.
12:45Usually, in coastal areas
12:47like Tanza Uno,
12:49here in Nagota City.
13:00According to the fisherman
13:02and resident, Rodolfo Manalaisay,
13:05he has been seeing mudskippers
13:07for a long time.
13:10I have been living here
13:12for 54 years.
13:14Since I moved here,
13:16I have been seeing mudskippers.
13:18The mudskippers' eyes
13:20are very big
13:22and they look scary.
13:27When the water is dry,
13:29they look like this.
13:31You can only see the eyes.
13:35This is one of the food
13:37that the residents eat.
13:39Some of them really catch mudskippers.
13:42We don't know how to catch mudskippers.
13:45When they catch mudskippers,
13:47we just buy them
13:49to eat.
13:51When I first came here,
13:53it was only P20.
13:55Now, it's P150.
13:57It's a hundred pieces.
13:59It's more delicious than tilapia.
14:01When they caught mudskippers,
14:03the soil they used
14:05came from the sea.
14:07The soil probably contains
14:09eggs and individual mudskippers.
14:11That's the reason
14:13why there are mudskippers
14:15in this area.
14:17According to the mangrove nursery worker
14:19of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources
14:21or DNR, Alfie Martinez,
14:23it's possible that
14:25the mudskippers came from
14:27the old fishing grounds in the area.
14:29Where are the
14:31borders of the old fishpond?
14:33There.
14:35It's like a wall.
14:37They just made a hole in it.
14:39Yes.
14:41The stone was destroyed.
14:43I see.
14:45Then, the fishpond was washed out.
14:47What kind of fish do you have here?
14:49We have mackerel,
14:51tilapia,
14:53and shrimp.
14:55Mudskippers can grow
14:57up to 10 inches
14:59or almost the length of a ruler.
15:01Usually,
15:03they can be found in low tide
15:05when the water level
15:07is low
15:09in the marshy area.
15:11That's where they are preferred.
15:13But let's try to find them
15:15if we can find any.
15:17Mudskippers can be found
15:19in tropical countries like the Philippines.
15:23We can see something here.
15:27Okay.
15:29Mudskippers live
15:31in the water.
15:33They go to the area where there's a little water.
15:35If we notice,
15:37it looks like amphibians.
15:39But they really are fish
15:41that can
15:43survive here on the surface.
15:45Mudskippers are
15:47weak, so
15:49they can't be easily approached by humans.
15:51If you approach them,
15:53they will easily go away
15:55and hide under
15:57the soft
15:59parts of the ground.
16:05The sun rises in a coastal area
16:07in Navotas City.
16:09Different types of
16:11migratory birds
16:13are coming out of the area.
16:15Their prey
16:17are small
16:19kabebe and
16:21mudskippers.
16:23Using the long
16:25tail of this bird,
16:27it walks slowly
16:29to catch the small
16:31mudskippers.
16:33But this mudskipper
16:35quickly
16:37goes away from the birds.
16:41Here they are.
16:43There.
16:45We can see them
16:47in the morning
16:49or early in the morning
16:51because the soil
16:53is softer.
16:55As the waters go up, it will be harder
16:57for us to see them.
16:59But we can still see something here.
17:01There.
17:03It's so fast.
17:05It's like it's really jumping.
17:09This fish can survive
17:11in the soil for two days.
17:13Mudskippers
17:15are carnivores.
17:17It means they eat meat
17:19of other small animals.
17:23Mudskippers are funny.
17:25As you can see,
17:27they suddenly go to the land
17:29using their pectoral and pelvic fins.
17:31They use them
17:33like we use our legs
17:35when we are in the land.
17:37They can survive in the land for a period of time
17:39by utilizing the
17:41bubbles that they have
17:43in their gills and then
17:45utilizing the oxygen that they can find in there.
17:47In fact, the eyes
17:49of the mudskippers are more capable
17:51in seeing here in the land
17:53than in water.
17:55Like amphibians, they can breathe
17:57through their skin.
17:59In a coastal area in Navotas City,
18:01the problem is not only
18:03of the residents but also
18:05of the mudskippers
18:07is the huge amount of garbage in the area.
18:13Explained by the Senior Fishing Regulators Officer
18:15of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources
18:17of BIFAR,
18:19it is possible that
18:21the fish will adapt
18:23to the garbage in the area.
18:25When the tide is high
18:27and the mudskippers
18:29are under the water,
18:31the mudskippers can
18:33maintain air pockets
18:35inside the mudskippers
18:37which allows them to breathe
18:39even if the oxygen
18:41concentration is too low.
18:43The mudskippers
18:45can serve as
18:47an environmental indicator
18:49but their presence
18:51does not mean that the place is clean.
18:53If there are a lot of mudskippers,
18:55it can be said that the place
18:57or ecosystem is still balanced
18:59because they depend
19:01on a clean ocean.
19:03To solve
19:05the garbage problem in
19:07Barangay Tanza Uno, Navotas City,
19:09in September this year,
19:11the Philippine Air Force
19:13reservists conducted
19:15a clean-up drive
19:17led by First Lieutenant
19:19Arthur Pareja.
19:21Aside from
19:23cleaning our environment,
19:25the next generation
19:27will be able to see
19:29that we are concerned
19:31about the environment.
19:33We are the first in the community
19:35to conduct a clean-up drive
19:37not only here in the coastal area
19:39but also in the barangay.
19:41In our coastal area,
19:43this will have an effect
19:45on our living things in the ocean.
19:47If it is that bad,
19:49there is a possibility
19:51that they will die.
19:53Many species of animals
19:55depend on the coastal areas
19:57as their home.
19:59That is why it is important
20:01to maintain a clean environment
20:03not only for the health
20:05of the people
20:07but also for the preservation
20:09of the wildlife
20:11that live here.
20:19Thank you for watching Born To Be Wild.
20:21For more stories about our environment,
20:23subscribe to the
20:25GME Public Affairs YouTube channel.