Saving wildlife, one episode at a time

Every week, we see them on TV, always on their feet — either trying to save an animal or going places to explore wildlife destinations.

Seems cool, right? Even Doc Ferds Recio and Doc Nielsen Donato think so. It’s not every day that you get a chance to host the country’s first and only wildlife documentary series. Doc Ferds, who has been hosting the show for the past nine years, looks back at the time the show was taking its first footsteps. “At that time, the idea of an environment-oriented program was something new to Philippine TV. And we were all excited and nervous at the same time when we launched Born,” says Doc Ferds. The response from the public, however, was “overwhelming.”

Doc Nielsen, in fact, never imagined he would be hosting a show like Born to be Wild.

“It was really a dream come true when Born to be Wild was created,” he says. “And I never thought that I would ever be a host. I only idolized the hosts of foreign wildlife shows but now I am already doing what they do,” he muses.

It’s been almost a decade since the first episode of Born to be Wild aired on TV. After doing almost 500 local and international stories, the show continues to be a champion in advocating biodiversity conservation through the powerful medium of television.

In the first few years of doing rescues, Doc Ferds says they would recover a lot of wounded, if not half-dead, snakes and other wildlife because people are afraid these animals would hurt them. “We still do a lot of animal rescues but now more people know what to do when they encounter snakes, cloud rats, birds or civets. And they always say that they learned what to do from watching the program,” he explains.

On a more personal level, the hosts say the show has enabled them to know more about their vocation and themselves.

In the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador, Doc Nielsen meets the famed giant tortoise

Doc Ferds shares that he has learned how change is necessary for survival, explaining that some of the approaches to teaching and creating awareness back then may not be applicable today. “Innovation is the key,” he says.

“I realized that I could still do more for wildlife conservation because of the show,” shares Doc Nielsen. Being healthy is also a must. “Our job requires us to be fit so we need to work out seriously,” he adds.

Even though Born to be Wild has taken them to so many wildlife destinations here and abroad, Doc Ferds and Doc Nielsen say they still find themselves in awe of Mother Nature and its inhabitants every single time they go out in the field.

Doc Ferds shares two of his most memorable episodes: “The first time we saw the Blue Whale (a first on Philippine TV). It was such a majestic and intimidating creature,” he says. He also cites the episode on the stranded sperm whale in Mamburao, Mindoro. “Being the only vet in the area, I needed to perform necropsy on a 50-foot giant all by myself,” he adds. The episode was nominated in the Asian TV Awards later on. 

“My favorite episodes are the ones on my bucket list: The Komodo Dragon, the South African adventure, the Galapagos adventure, all the Babuyan Island adventures and the Tamaraws,” shares Doc Nielsen.

Doc Nielsen Donato (left) and Doc Ferds Recio hope to continually inspire viewers with their wildlife conservation stories

In the span of nine years, Born to be Wild’s contribution to Philippine environment has been recognized by various award-giving bodies. This year, the show earned several awards from the academe and student organizations. It is the 2016 Gandingan Best Environment-Oriented Program by the University of the Philippines Los Baños and one of the finalists for Outstanding Televised Feature Story on Youth and Education at the 13th Lasallian Scholarum Awards by the De La Salle University. The program has also been previously named ASEAN Champion for Biodiversity and is a two-time New York Festivals finalist awardee.

But beyond the awards and the accidental fame that came with the show’s success, Doc Ferds and Doc Nielsen want their show to do more.

Helping to address climate change is part of their to-do list. “The need to disseminate information and to promote awareness is crucial if we want to reverse or at least mitigate the effects of climate change,” explains Doc Ferds.

He also dreams of better wildlife conservation. “(I hope) we won’t ever have to document confiscation of illegal pets and put the confiscated animals in a rescue center and that no Filipino will buy, sell or abuse wildlife or domesticated animals for that matter.” As the show can only do so much, he also hopes that more experts, scientists and researchers will share their studies so everyone can learn and benefit from them. 

“The things that we aspire for the environment and for Philippine wildlife are not impossible to gain. We all need to work together,” says Doc Ferds.

As they begin another chapter in Born to be Wild, they would like to thank their viewers for their never-ending support. “We hope to continually inspire you with our wildlife conservation stories. Watch out for the awesome footage we captured that will be seen for the first time on national TV,” says Doc Nielsen. “And please always support the advocacy,” says Doc Ferds.