Thursday, December 27, 2007

Ep6 Jan2: Veterinary & Animal Care 101






This episode is not about a specific wildlife or animal, but rather a new experience to try animal care in a different manner – HANDS-ON VETERINARY-kuno.

Well, I can’t say it’s really veterinary, but up-close animal handling ala-beterinaryo is in the menu for this week’s episode. The ‘challenges’ (as Doc Ferdz put it) are manageable like cleaning a hoof of a mini-horse, disinfecting wound of a Camel, and may crux – testicle removal of a small pig! (aka Kapon) HAHA. The latter was THE challenge as I’m not use to cutting skin and flesh, pulling testicles, and actually applying knot tying skills to ‘close’ the tubular vessel that connects to the pig’s testicles. Poor animal!

Now I know why I took an IT career – I don’t really like medical procedures, on animals, on humans – and specially, on me!!

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Ep5 Dec26: Baby turtles, crawling to the sea...





Sea turtles are one of the old surviving species. Imagine – sea turtles started swimming our oceans some 200millions years ago, and although greatly reduced in number – still roaming our oceans today, outlasting the great dinosaurs. (Dinosaurs became extinct some 65million years ago). They're among the few animals that ‘re-entered’ the oceans and evolved to live an almost-permanent life in the sea.


Leatherbacks, green and hawksbill turtles are all critically endangered species. Bataan’s pride – the Olive Ridley is endangered, and we’re hoping that the conservation effort in Morong will allow this species to last another million years, hopefully living thru the new impending Climate Change disaster, and even outlasting Sapiens (hehe)…

Although protected by law, Pawikans are illegally killed for its meat and carapace (‘shell’), and its egg poached as aphrodisiac. (Sigh). Turtle eggs are not even nutritious, high in cholesterol, with no aphrodisiac value whatsoever, and sometimes even contain small amounts of heavy metals like cadmium or mercury. Duh!
Sea turtles meat is also semi-toxic, given that turtles normally thrive on highly toxic sea creatures like jellyfish, anemone and sea sponges.

Conservation centers normally just take care of the nesting place (beach area), the eggs (secure them), and the hatchlings (make sure they crawl to sea). But the real conservation lies in all of us. By not buying turtles products, we kill the demand and hopefully stop the poaching. And by educating our youngsters and friends – we can help save this gentle, lovable creatures of the sea.


Some more Fast Facts:
- Less than 5% of hatchlings the crawls to sea will live to adulthood. Some say only 1%. Like sharks, their sexual maturity takes times (20plus years for sea turtles) hence the slow reproduction process.
- Baby sea turtles (hatchlings) know that they MUST go to sea to survive, les they’ll be eaten by bayawaks, dogs, birds and even humans. And even w/ a good number reaching the sea, most will not survive. When they reach adulthood, their primary predators will be humans. Experts say they can live up to 50-60years. Nemo’s father met an individual with an age of more than 100 years :) hehe.
- Sea turtles remember their place of birth (as in - ala GPS reading), and if a female survive to adulthood, in 20-25 years, they will nest in exactly the same birth place. Even if they travel to Atlantic or Pacific or Indian ocean!
- Best places in Philippines to see sea turtles: APO REEF, TURTLE ISLANDS (duh!), TUBATTAHA (diving only), maybe even BATAAN.


Monday, December 17, 2007

Dec19 Ep4: Sea Snake Encounter



Wildlife encounter: Several banded seasnakes (on land), biggest is 1-in thick, 4feet long.
Adventure: Island-hopping, snorkelling, rock scrambling, and snake handling :)
Like their land counterparts - sea snakes are mostly feared or even hated by humans. Most people just consider them evil, nuisance, or simply useless. But by now, we should all know that all species play a certain role in the ecosystem. So just like cute or lovable animals like dolphins or turtles, we need to protect the sea snakes and keep that eco-system in balance. Sure their bites are deadly but it should not mean we should kill their kind.

Sea snakes are highly venomous. (Not poisonous. Poison kills when ingested, venom are chemical toxins that disrupts our organs/system when introduced to our body). In fact they’re more deadly than cobras. The good news is that, sea snake can ‘toggle on or off’ their venom flow, so generally (not always) – they inject venom only to hunt and eat, but not when biting for defense. It is formerly believed (at least in the diving community) that they can’t bite most human body parts except the ears or the ‘web-skin’ between our fingers. Some theory suggests though, that they can unlock their jaws deliberately (normally for swallowing) – but still not known if they do that when biting. Well, I’ll just keep my distance and not risk knowing it for myself :) - you get a venomous bite, and your life ticks away fast, without so much hope for a timely cure.

Saving animals doesn’t always mean cuddling and loving them, for those who doesn’t like snake too much – simply letting them live their own life in their natural habitat is already a conservation effort. After all, we’re only intruders and visitors of their habitat. And just like sharks, learning about them will lessen or eliminate deadly encounters.

Ang WILD!

Sunday, December 9, 2007

Dec12 Ep3: Heal the World!




“… Make it a better place, for you and me and the entire human race…” I think that’s the lyrics of that song, or at least something like that hehe.

Well, when we talk ‘environment’ – it’s all about “issues” ‘coz the fact is – our environment (or the biosphere in general) is the only constantly degenerating component of our planet. Sad di ba. But looking at the positive side – doing something, no matter how small or insignificant, is better, in a lot of sense, than NOT ACTING about our issues. In today’s era of ‘care’, or ‘external focus’ or ‘reaching out’ – it’s almost a crime not to do something about broken things. So let’s DO SOMETHING!

While my partner, Doc Ferdz tried to help neglected, beaten, abandoned or due-for-katay Dogs, I revisited an old, familiar site in Bauan – an Artificial Reef that my team of divers constructed a few years back. Back then, we were struggling with technology, technique, ideas and of course – FUND, and struggling to produce something worthwhile to help re-grow the coral reefs of Bauan (‘Greater Anilao’). My first-ever Climb for a Cause (2004) was dedicated for this effort. We luckily got meager funding from Project AWARE and a few donations from some friends, and soon started our reef building.

Today, after years of ‘life progression’ in the hard substrate (‘reeflets’) that we deployed, we’re finally seeing HEALTHY BABY HARD CORALS growing on the reeflets. This is the best sign of success, more than just seeing fish playing around the structure – it means a new habitat (from the bottom of the marine life chain) is forming to support a little community of future marine life. Tree-planting is easy to do on land, although seedling mortality is high, probability of significant success is higher. But ‘planting’ hard corals (aka. Coral re-planting) underwater is a tricky process, and ‘naturally’ growing them from artificial reef is even more ambitious (we’re doing the latter). But little effort eventually brings good results – and we are seeing it now.

There are many areas where people can help heal nature, or at least allow nature to heal itself. Sometimes (if you’re truly the busy, or the deadma type haha!), we don’t even need to intervene or take complex actions. Simply reducing waste, reducing energy consumption (aka. carbon footprint) and general resource conservation (water, all material things) are of BIG HELP already.

Let’s do our little share and just think that Mother Earth is proudly smiling back at us for that little effort.
We, humans are born to be wild, but we’re also BORN TO LOVE & CARE! =)


Monday, December 3, 2007

Dec5 Ep2: Hide and Seek with the Sharks


(shark photo courtesy of R.Barnett)
WILDLIFE ENCOUNTER: four (4) White Tip Reef Sharks; mantis shrimp, Bat fish, & fish fish fish... ZERO Tresher Shark!
ADVENTURE: Scuba Diving - rocky boat in Big Swells, 1-to-2 knot underwater current
------------------------
“SHARK!! Swim for your life!!”
(I was shouting at the shark… so it can swim away, to live another day.)
Sharks earned their fearsome reputation from their menacing set of razor-sharp teeth, fatal attacks on human, and of course – famous movies like “Jaws”. Seeing its dorsal fin gliding in the surface water towards you - gives you the imminent feeling of death!

But we all know that majority of shark species are harmless to humans. In fact, humans kill a lot, lot, lot, lot more sharks (millions!) than sharks kill humans. And their numbers are already threatened.

In the Philippines, majority of Pinoys still fear sharks as voracious human-eating predators. And does that really matter? YES - because people don’t care killing (or allowing killing of) ‘enemies’, and are easily blinded by its importance. The first step is to understand that these creatures are not like the regular Great Whites featured in “Jaws!” We, divers, experience for the fact- that they can swim with humans side by side, without those flesh-munching, arm-tearing attacks. Of course that’s true if you are swim-diving with the right species (or size) of shark, or if you’re behaving ‘nicely’. Enough knowledge gets you out of trouble.

Sharks, even those protected or endangered – are all being hunted for its prized part – the FINS! And not many people know that the usual shark finning method is to catch the animal alive, cut its fins (dorsal, pectorals, tail), and dump back the poor dying victim in the water to die of drowning or starvation. Many people do not know that they play a certain role in the eco-system. All species do! Keeping mid-predator population balanced is one. Like there is this story somewhere in Europe on a severe Tuna population decline, and fishermen were shocked to find out that the reason was the declining number of sharks. They learned later that a healthy population of shark kept Tuna’s primary predator in check.

Sharks are beautiful, elegant and awesome swimmer and hunter. I have seen a few in our own backyards – in Apo Reef, in Malapascua, and also in other famous dive destinations like Palau. Most people only see them in wet markets, or see (and eat) some of its part in restaurants.
We’ve seen the stats, and we’ve seen the effects of its decline. It’s time to ACT – an act to help save this important species to help preserve not just their kind, but the whole Marine ecosystem as well.

This is not only a problem of Government, or NGOs, or concerned citizen. We can all do our little thing to help. DON’T buy or consume shark products!! Shark’s fin soup or siomai, and shark’s teeth/jaw are just a few common examples – please avoid them, and give our shark friends a little room to survive.

Sabi nga ng WWF – “If the buying stops, the killing will…” :)

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Episode1: In a Monkey Business


Wildlife encounter:
- Macaque Monkeys [~10 individuals],
- Swallow (Balinsasayaw) & Nests [1 bird, several nests]
Adventure - Hiking, Caving

My first story is a pretty modest one - it's about Macaque Monkeys in Calatrava, Negros!

The monkeys in the sanctuary (in Sitio Paitan) although seemingly tame and friendly - are actually wild. This is not an endangered species – but this little story has a message for us all.
One of the 2 clans living in the area developed a "culture" of interacting with people passing thru the road to get food and even water. The other clan, as we were told, remained wild and distant to humans.

Over the years, the first clan had experienced a population decline due to "kidnapping" (as how the locals would say it), and even road accidents.
Based on our assessment – it seems like the root cause of the decline is attributed (generally) to one thing – interaction with humans!

Feeding wild animals (birds, monkeys, etc..) alters their social behavior and feeding patterns. People have good intentions to ‘help’ but normally will introduce problems. Monkeys in the sanctuary should learn how to forage in the forest, spread plant seeds (thru their deposits), and stay away from humans to help prevent transfer of disease. We may prefer them to be ‘tourist-friendly’ but that’s not the way to really protect them.

We think that the primary reason why some of them were snatched is due to their friendly behavior. They can easily be snatched, or lured by food, hopping in a van or car, and ending up in a cage somewhere.

We can help save, not just these monkeys in Calatrava, but any other wild animals – by avoiding too much interaction, and avoiding giving food or water. If animals pass on the behavior to their offspring, the next generation may not develop the right skills to hunt and scavenge for their own food.

They are born to be wild, so - LET THEM BE WILD!! :)


Related point:
Feeding animals is a form of human intervention. Generally, the first approach in conservation is ‘natural rehabilitation’ – w/c simply means, allowing nature to heal itself.
My travel in New Zealand and Palau confirmed this best approach in conservation. In Kiwiland, they close down a particular island for it to recover from bird population decline, or habitat degradation, etc., and only researchers are allowed to enter the area (for monitoring purposes). Palau has taken a more extreme approach – they occupy around a half of their territory, closed down the other part, then in 20 or 50 years (I forgot), they will move the entire population (now ~21k) and even infrastructure to the preserved area and allow the now-occupied land to recover and rehabilitate itself.
Of course human intervention (such as tree-planting, breeding in captivity and re-introduction, etc.) is necessary if nature is unable to heal itself fast or properly. A case could be: a significant mountain area with 90% deforestation coupled by erosion.

Friday, November 16, 2007

Ep.0: Up-close with a Hippo




“In there?” I asked, as the crew suggested that I should go in the Hippo pen. Having visited various natural parks in East Africa, I am aware that the most number of human fatalities caused by animal attacks are topped by Hippos, Water Buffalos (and even Rhinos before their significant population decline), and not from lions or crocodiles. And get this – these animals are all herbivores (‘vegetarians’) and for some reason, they are very aggressive to humans.

Anyway, our Hippo in Manila Zoo is ‘domesticated’ and friendly, that I can actually feed its yawning mouth with my hand, or even touch its teeth. Admittedly, I wouldn’t go near this 6000-lb animal if it’s on land (unless it acts like a friendly Labrador).

We visited the zoo to do some test shoots, and no we’re not featuring this segment in the show. I am aware that some environmentalist or animal protection groups do not like keeping animals in zoo (who would?), but it’s a subject that may not be featured in the show (kase nga ‘wild’ ung title ng show ‘di ba). My take – these animals have a different role in life now (surely they’ll never be wild again). And that role is on education and awareness, a silent campaign to love and protect the animals. It is somewhat - a ‘sacrificial’ role. Seeing them or their living conditions is also a subtle hint and call - that we should stop ‘caging’ other animals.

Now let's hear it from Sir Elton: “Turn me loose, from your hand… let me fly to distant land...”


Wednesday, November 14, 2007

ETO NA!

“Stand by, rolling - 4, 3, 2… “

I wouldn’t hesitate jumping out of an aircraft flying 5000ft above ground (as long as I have a parachute w/ me); nor would I even feel scared standing on a cliff edge at 28,000ft! I would not even feel anything, but amazed, diving with an army of sharks swimming around me.

But looking at the camera to deliver spiels would, at times intimidate me, or completely made me feel like a fool to myself. It is one thing making kuento to friends (konyo!), or being interviewed, but it’s a completely different matter to ‘act and feel’ your spiels. I find it especially difficult to do the VO - Voice Overs (the recorded voice used while some docu film is playing).

But this challenge seems to go away when I think about the principle – “of doing the right things”. And my higher principle here is – Help Protect the Living Planet. At least the awareness and education campaign is big on this one – so I’ll keep my hopes high that we can really do something about our ailing environment. So I have to forget about my personal struggle w/ spiels or VOs, like bad weather or strong winds during a summit attempt – I have to ignore, endure and move on!! (naks)

So how did I landed in this nightmare… err.. opportunity?
I actually don’t know! HAHA! I still can’t remember if I firmly said YES to this stuff! My co-host, Doc Ferdz, doesn’t seem to remember either. Sometimes we felt like victims of brainwashing or something… HAHA! What I remember is making pasyal to GMA office (konyo talaga!), to pitch an expedition, reality-TV story, then being lured to audition for “100% Pinoy” – but then ended up auditioning for “Born to be Wild!” The next day or so, I was told -“You will be a host!” Talaga?!

Do I want to be a host?! Huh? Not exactly! Do I like wildlife docu work? YES!! In fact, I want to film wolves, polar bears (if they’re not yet extinct), even penguins! Do I want to help in conservation work? YES!!! - And so I guess a score of 2/3 eventually made the silent decision. Of course this means sacrificing a lot of time given that I have a full-time job, so I have to motivate myself with good thoughts: “Wildlife encounter!”, “For a good cause!”, “Umm, free weekend trips!!” hahaha!

Am I ready for this thing? I really don’t know, all I know is that,
I… am… BORN TO BE WILD!!! :)

Monday, October 15, 2007

Earth Care



The New Age of Earth Care
(Garduch 6.07)

In today’s era of Global Warming, things and personal preference would have to change. Little ‘sacrifices’ and normal perks we look for are easily put aside for a grander end in mind – Saving the world!

For a tiny bit of example, when I eat at our office cafeteria - the staff always wonder why I ask for a single plate with rice and ulam on it, instead of putting my viand in a separate platito. Or, that endless question from friends on why I try not to use straw in my resto drinks. Simple math – or maybe the law of cumulative effect. Imagine 100 guys like me in one cafeteria doing that, imagine 100 other buildings in Makati and Ortigas with 100 guys on each practicing the same thing – that’s 10,000 pieces of platitos that needs fresh water for washing, and loads of detergent streaming down our drainage system. Did you know that in some parts of the world, some folks don’t even have access to clean water for drinking? Or, imagine 10000 pieces of plastic straw that should have not been manufactured, packed and shipped (hence less energy consumption) and later on should have not cluttered our sewerage or add up to our land-fills, or burned as harmful gas. And that’s only 2 cities, imagine the entire Metro Manila, or entire Archipelago, or imagine the whole world! You have to believe - Little things do have impact.

Today, I still hear some folks utter comments like, “This is just one small piece of plastic bag to throw away, I can’t possibly harm the environment”. Yeah, like a 100,000 others like you could be doing the same thing, and so it has a cumulative impact. Traveling in different countries will make you see varying cultures on this aspect. When I bought goodies from a big outdoor shop in Toronto, I was politely asked by the cashier-staff if I needed a plastic bag for my newly-bought stuffs (- they encourage you bring your own reusable shopping bag). Try to do that in Manila and you’ll probably be shouted at by the shopper. It’s nice to see that some culture really has embedded eco practice in their daily lives. Some are a bit picky due to lack of awareness. “At least I try not to use styro, plastics are less harmful” so there goes their rationale. They didn’t know that those little plastic grocery bags that ended in the coastal garbage site kills sea turtles every now and then (the poor animal thinks those are jelly fish meals).

After the Al Gore phenomenon, and all the recent news on “save the environment” campaigns, we still have to see a big change in our daily lives. Have you retired your heavy SUVs, or replaced all your incandescent lamps, or even practiced pedestrianism or bike commuting? The answer is – it takes time. But slow injection of little changes will help us all evolve to more Earth-friendly humans.

ME FIRST
Developing countries influenced by a “fast track lifestyle” like ours has unfortunately, a bigger challenge ahead. In this world of ‘me-first’ rat race, a world of fast-food and quick-return investments, and a culture of heavy competition and urgency, we instinctively work and live for one thing – MONEY! - That’s our means to make lives more ‘comfortable’ in this world.
We focus on career that rewards more money, crave for success that means more money, or fame that translates to money. Getting hard-earned cash is not bad per se, but it loses our focus to more important things in life. Like LIFE itself! Or even the environment that supports life.
I recall inviting a group for a tree-planting activity, and their first question to me was – “do you get money from that?” I have to laugh. It’s funny that at almost every aspect, people think about money. After returning home from the steep slopes of Everest, people ask for ‘balato’ as if I lifted a pot of gold from the summit. “How much did you win?” became a common question. When I join races and talk about my experience with corporate YUPs, they would ask – “did you place? How much is the prize?” Well, they can’t understand the concept of “joining a race for fun”, they thought it’s all about earning money. Obviously, it is in our culture. Aminin na natin. When we talk about conveniences in life, we always ‘feel’ we lack something, and hence work for more to upgrade, then work some more. That’s the ideology of cancer cells – grow for the sake of growing.

This is one of the core issues on why eco awareness doesn’t normally translate into action. How many have watched “An inconvenient truth”? A lot, tens of thousands, maybe more. But the ‘wow and awe’ and “oo nga noh” awareness didn’t really evolved much into action. Some did, but was never sustained.


Enhancing the Personal Value system

The simplified answer to a seemingly complex question of people’s inaction is rooted in one thing – our values, those that dictate our life’s choices, or our daily priorities. And we all know that value system can’t be easily changed. It is rooted deep within ourselves. Significant experiences in life change that. I used to feel immortal, just like any gung-ho mixed endurance and adrenalin athletes out there. But after the death of my Dad, I see life to be more fragile, that I could as well be him, losing life’s grip in an instant. I’ve seen a few friends who suffered severe health problems, but came back as a very active sportsman – a big change in how they live their lives.

But how can you enhance that value component, and embed Earth Care as part of it? Not easy, unless you discover for yourself that there’s fulfillment in doing it. You have to experience the ‘magic’. A few examples in the realm of sports… There’s this time that I’ve taken a non-swimmer, and a hydrophobic person underwater for his first-ever introductory scuba dive. Of course it was stressful for both of us (me at that time was a newbie Dive Master), but after a 20minute dive experience – it changed everything. For him at least. How can such beauty of the underwater world be there and not be experienced by a non-diver? It sounded unfair. But with that one experience, he instantly knew there was something down there that can give him unexplained pleasure, not experienced in climbing mountains, or other stuff that he does.
Like my adventure story. I’ve never thought I’d pursue Alpine Climbing, but my first trip in Nepal in 1998 has taught me that there’s a big world out there waiting for me, a place of great adventure, and a place of great dreams. One trip has changed everything. So the simple point is that - experience can change things - what you’ll like, what’s important for you, what you want to do in life.

In the segment of eco-community work, time and again I’ve heard of a corporate volunteer, who ended up quitting his day job and doing NGO work full time. I’ve heard of doctors who created charity foundations after they have witnessed the struggle of poor patients pouring in their hospitals. It’s not because they simply “live a life of sacrifice and selflessness and martyrdom”, it’s because they experience the magic of it. It’s not all about being “a good person”, it is simply following a basic life’s principle - of doing the right things, plus the bonus of actually getting satisfaction from it.

And it could be from simple things.
Just last year, when we organized a tree-planting activity in Alaminos Pangasinan, I was half-expecting that the planting is the unwanted-but-sige-na-nga task, and boating around Hundred Islands as THE highlight. But after planting 400 seedlings in the muddy wetland, we all felt the magic. The highlight of the trip was the tree-planting! And instead of asking when’s the next beach gimmick – the participants were asking for the next planting activity! One experience has changed some things.

I was normally asked why I pursue dangerous climbs and not pursue a more ‘regular’ sports, other the fact that I don’t quite feel the danger :) I normally suggests that maybe – living life on the edge gives you more undefined fulfillment in life. The closer you are to the edge… the more fulfillment that you will get. Things that you earned hard are things that last in our memory. Easy gains are easily lost, but those you sweated blood for are the enduring and fulfilling moments in life.
I compare this with simple Earth Care actions, the magic you experience is the undefined fulfillment – more than earning extra money from an overtime weekend work, more fulfilling than the first prize you claimed from a race, and a it carries a lot more meaning than winning a big corporate rat race! And yes it could be challenging, maybe more challenging than extreme sports – and you could very well be living on the edge, but that’s the key to gain more fulfillment.

The simple message – learn to care, and experience the magic… In no time, you’ll be one of Earth’s dearest friends. :)