Cobra Country and Sabang Dragon on 'Born to be Wild'

“THE VETS ARE IN”

Born to be Wild’s 5^th Anniversary Series

Continues Wednesday, October 17 

The Vets are officially in! Last Wednesday, BORN TO BE WILD kicked off its anniversary series with the powerhouse tandem of Doc Nielsen Donato and Doc Ferds Recio. This week, the two vets continue on with their missions in “Cobra Country” and “Sabang Dragon”.   

COBRA COUNTRY

At the start of Doc Nielsen’s journey to plantations in Bukidnon where deaths from snake bites have been reported, he encounters a local named Sherwin bearing what looks like a totem pole with the head of two snakes—a cobra and a python. But this totem pole is not a family emblem or a war stick. It is Sherwin’s reminder of the frightening encounter he had with the king of snakes. Sherwin recalls how the mighty cobra “stood” in front of him, almost towering over his head. Luckily, he says, he got to the cobra before it got to him.

So far, Doc Nielsen has only seen the head of a dead King Cobra and later on, the skin and petrified body of the snake. Most farmers who encounter cobras kill the animals. They fear for their safety and for good reason. The King Cobra is the longest venomous snake in the world. And in the Philippines, there is no anti-venin for king cobra bites. The Born team’s mission is to gather enough information and to map cobra-riddled areas for venom collection. As Doc Nielsen and the team continue to investigate the stories behind cobra attacks, they encounter a live snake with a majestic head and colorful scales. Could this be the King?

SABANG DRAGON

Everything deserves a second look. This is what Doc Ferds discovers when he revisits Sabang Island in Palawan where, two years ago, he met monitor lizards living in harmony with rangers, tourists, not to mention birds and monkeys. But unknown to Doc Ferds and the team in 2010, there would soon be a discovery in Sabang Island. 

Doc Ferds has been quite ‘lucky’ with giant lizard sightings in the last few years.  Some of his most iconic stories include the filming of newly discovered lizard species in 2010. These species—the butaan and the bitatawa—are endemic to the Philippines and can be found nowhere else in the world. And it seems that where reptiles are concerned, there is no shortage of discovery in the Philippines. As Doc Ferds returns to Sabang, he seeks to confirm what experts have published—that the innocent-looking monitor lizards that bask in the beaches of Sabang are special. And as Doc Ferds continues to investigate, it seems the locals have yet to find out that experts have declared these lizards as endemic and can only be found in Palawan.

The discoveries continue on BORN TO BE WILD. Catch “Cobra Country” and “Sabang Dragon” this Wednesday, after Saksi!