'Kiwet' and mating rituals of hawk owls on 'Born To Be Wild'

The Banaue Rice Terraces have been threatened over the years by pestilence and invasive species.  Doc Ferds Recio takes the road up North to document how these creatures have affected the heritage site.  The Asian swamp eel locally called “kiwet” that first infested the farms of Isabela are now in Ifugao.  

Farmers complain that the kiwet causes soil erosion by burrowing into the walls of the terraces while they look for food.  The giant earthworm, meanwhile, destroys the rice seedlings, affecting the farmers’ harvests.

The Philippines has seven species of hawk owl, all of them endemic to our country.  The seventh, declared a new species in 2012, can be found in the island of Camiguin.  Doc Nielsen and the team explore Camiguin Island to document the mating rituals of the hawk owl.  The team films two Camiguin hawk owls, perched on a tree, while the male owl courts the female.

Don’t miss this exciting episode of Born to be Wild, Sunday after AHA!