Philippine eagle killed in Davao de Oro

MANILA, Philippines — A male Philippine Eagle named Mangayon was killed in Compostela Valley, Davao de Oro, authorities said.

According to the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF), the national bird succumbed to severe blood loss due to a gunshot wound.

In a Facebook post on Thursday, the PEF said veterinarians suspect that the wound was from a marble gun that hit Mangayon’s left wing. Citing necropsy results, the PEF also said that the bird was healthy with all of its internal organs in good condition before it was shot, and that the primary cause of the animal’s death was severe blood loss with a high possibility of sepsis.

The PEF said the injured Philippine Eagle was discovered in Bermuda, a part of a barangay that is also called Mangayon in Compostela Valley by patrolling members of the Philippine Army.

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A male Philippine Eagle named Mangayon was killed in Compostela Valley, Davao de Oro, the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) reports on Thursday, July 11, 2024. Photo from PEF/Rowell Taraya

A rescue team was dispatched from Davao City to Compostela Valley to retrieve the national bird for medical examination. However, the team saw the eagle was unresponsive and had a prominent open injury. Their initial assessment showed that the bird suffered from slight dehydration.

The eagle underwent physical and medical examinations in Davao City where Dr. Bayani Vandenbroeck eventually discovered “an entry wound in the left tarsal area of the eagle’s wing which exited through the opposite side and extended to the left keel area of Mangayon’s wing.”

The PEF said Mangayon vomited and discharged foul-smelling fluids due to undigested food before it was pronounced dead at 9:47 p.m. on July 8.

READ: Foundation releases 2 Philippine eagles in Leyte

The young bird was the 20th case of eagle rescue since 2020, and the fourth this year.

Due to this incident, the PEF repeated its call for the government to strengthen measures to save the endangered animal.

“We would mostly need [local government units] and national government actions and investment. The civil society sector can only do so much. We need government political will and action. There should also be additional financing to a systematic and nationwide species survival campaign before it’s too late for our national bird,” said PEF Executive Director Dennis Salvador.