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The Snake Turtle

Episode on June 16, 2008
Monday night, after Saksi


The Snake Turtle

A new pest is reported to have shown up at the foot of the Mayon Volcano.

Known to the locals as bawo, the soft-shelled turtle is blamed by farmers for disturbing them in the fields and by fishermen for wiping out the fish in the river.

When Kara David hears about this, she travels Guinobatan, Albay, where Guillermo shows her his turtle bite marks. He says he receives surprise attacks while working in his ricefield. The pesky bawo hide under the mud.

iwit_kara_turtle

Kara discovers how the animal is treated by local children. Ten-year-old Jessa plays with turtle eggs. She and her friends kill baby turtles out of the superstition that handling a live one will affect their brain.

The fishermen blame these turtles for the fish shortage in their rivers. To solve the problem, they eat them and turn them into pulutan.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has yet to study these animals. How they got here and why they have multiplied so quickly remain a mystery.

Catch this fascinating documentary on the relationship between humans and a new animal species, this Monday late night on Kara David’s I-Witness documentary “Ahas-Pagong" (“The Snake-Turtle").


Ahas-Pagong

May isang kinikilalang peste na makikita sa paanan ng bulkang Mayon. Ito ang bawo o ang soft-shelled turtle na umuubos daw ng mga isda sa ilog at nangangagat ng mga magsasaka sa mga palayan ng Guinobatan, Albay.

Ang mala-ahas na pagong na ito ang pakay ng grupo ng I-Witness ni Kara David.

Unang nakilala ni Kara ang magsasakang si Gullermo na nagpakita ng mga kagat ng bawo. Ginugulat daw siya lagi ng mga biglang pagkagat nito habang siya ay nagsasaka. Nagtatago raw kasi ito sa ilalim ng putik.

Nakita rin ni Kara ang kakaibang pagtrato ng mga bata sa hayop. Pinaglalaruan ni Jessa ang mga itlog ng bawo. Pinapatay nilang magkakaibigan yung mga maliliit na pagong dahil nakabobobo raw ito kapag hinawakan.

Pinagbibintangan din ng mga mangingisda na kumonti ang kanilang mga huli dahil kinakain ng mga pagong ang mga isda. Madalas kasi nilang mahuli ito sa lambat . Kaya naging solusyon nila ang ulamin o gawing pulutan ang mga bawo.

Sa pagkausap ni Kara sa DENR, nalaman niya na wala pa silang pag-aaral na ginawa tungkol sa pagong na ito. Dahil na rin sa patuloy na paghuli, pagpatay at pagkain.

Ang “Ahas-Pagong", isang dokyu ukol sa relasyon ng tao sa hayop, ngayong Lunes sa I-Witness ni Kara David.
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