‘Philippine Eagle’
GOVERNMENT authorities continue to intensify nationwide efforts to conserve the country’s critically endangered birds and animals.
Reports said that due to hunting, loss of habitat and other factors, those facing extinction include the Philippine Eagle and the Tamaraw.
The raptor, formerly called the monkey-eating eagle, is considered as the largest of its kind in the world in terms of its length and wing surface.
The majestic Philippine eagle preys on a variety of animals, ranging from rodents and bats to pigs and monitor lizards.
People stopped calling the raptor “monkey-eating eagle” after it was found that “hindi lang pala unggoy ang kinakain nito.”
It is, thus, disheartening to know that a three-year-old male eagle, named “Uswag,” died a month after he was released in the forests of Burauen, Leyte.
The Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) seek to repopulate the raptors in Leyte.
It will be recalled that the Philiippine Eagle’s nesting sites in the province were destroyed by Typhoon “Yolanda” years ago.
“Uswag” and “Carlito,” a female, were released to the wild last June 28. Both were rescued from the hands of wildlife poachers in Mindanao.
The decomposing carcass of “Uswag” was washed away 33 kilometers from where he was thought to have crashed and drowned off Baybay City.
The area is some 102 kilometers from “Uswag” and “Carlito” were releaed in Barangay Kagbana, Burauen.
In the view of many, the death of “Uswag” saddened not only our conservationists but also the rest of the Filipino people.
Despite this, the authorities and the private sector are determined to pursue efforts to conserve our critically endangered flora and fauna.
