DENR seeks police help in search for killer of Phil Eagle

Wikipedia photo of a Philippine Eagle

MANILA, Philippines – Police assistance is being sought by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in finding the killer of a breeding adult female Philippine eagle felled by a bullet on Mt. Apo, Davao over seven days ago.

Regional officers have been ordered by Environment Secretary Ramon Paje to assist in tracking down the killer of the mother eagle, which – according to the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) – has left a seven-month old eaglet to fend for itself, in its wake.

Speaking to reporters from The STAR, PEF research and conservation division head Jayson Ybañez disclosed that the the bird was tagged with radio and satellite GPS transmitters, and was released on April 9 in Barangay Sibulan. It was through this satellite transmitter that officials found out of the bird’s fate.

“Based on the GPS readings on Aug. 11, we saw satellite readings clustered in an area at the base of Mt Apo, which was unusual,” Ybañez said.

“The signals were in mortality mode. This normally happens when the radio unit is not moving, indicating either the transmitters fell out of the bird, or the bird itself died,” he added.

On August 14, a team of PEF biologists and volunteer forest rangers from the indigenous Bagobo Tagabawa tribe set forth into the area signaled by the GPS in order to locate the eagle and possibly come to its assistance.

To their dismay, the group found no more the “skeletonized carcass” of the eagle, which had fallen head first, with its left wing still dangling from nearby fern bushes.

Upon examination by PEF veterinarian Ana Lascano, the bird was found to have a cracked keel bone.

“We are entertaining the possibility that the puncture was caused by a bullet, but we have yet to consult a ballistic expert to find out whether the puncture is caused by a bullet,” Lascano said.

PEF executive director Dennis Salvador lamented the death of the mother eagle as said the death “doubly unfortunate because it is also left motherless her seven-month old baby back at the nesting site in Sibulan.”

“With this, the job of feeding the young rests on the male eagle,” Salvador added.

“But as of the latest feedback last Saturday, the young has been begging noisily for food and has not been fed by the male since last Aug. 17. We have organized a supplemental feeding initiative with the Regional Eagle Watch Team of DENR Region XI and the Lumad forest guards and active provisions of food will begin next week to prevent the bird from dying from starvation,” Salvador pointed out.

The young eaglet is currently being monitored via GPS satellite unit for monitoring.