CASUALTY The male Philippine eagle named “Mangayon” died due to severe blood loss after he was hit by a hunter’s improvised air gun, called “jolen,” in the forests of Compostela, Davao de Oro. —PHOTO COURTESY OF PHILIPPINE EAGLE FOUNDATION
DAVAO CITY — Barely two weeks after the success of reintroducing a pair of the national bird into the forests of Leyte, conservationists were greeted with the devastating news of the death of a male Philippine eagle (Pitechopaga jefferyi) from a bullet wound in Compostela, Davao de Oro.
“We mourn the loss of an immature male Philippine eagle named ‘Mangayon,’” the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) said in a statement on Thursday.
PEF said that based on necropsy results, Mangayon, named after the village where he was found, “died due to severe blood loss after being wounded.”
“The results also indicated a high likelihood of sepsis from the wounds,” the necropsy report indicated.
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Except for the wound from the fractured wing, Mangayon was assessed to be “a healthy male with all internal organs in good condition.”
Veterinarians who examined Mangayon suspected that the wound was from an improvised “jolen” or marble gun that was fired while the eagle was perched, as there was no trace of any lead or metal bullets penetrating its body.
The bleeding eagle was rescued by Army soldiers on patrol in Barangay Mangayon. They turned it over to environmental authorities on Monday.
Racing against time
When alerted, a rescue team from PEF, composed of conservation breeding manager Dominic Tadena and senior field biologist Rowell Ron Taraya, was immediately dispatched from Davao City to retrieve the bird.
Upon turnover, the PEF team immediately applied antiseptic on Mangayon and secured its wounded left wing for the over two hours of travel to Davao City, during which it was already “lethargic” and “unresponsive.”
Mangayon was attended to at the veterinary clinic of Dr. Bayani Vandenbroeck at past 9 p.m. on Monday.
“After the x-ray procedure, the team observed that eagle Mangayon began discharging foul fluid and solid materials from its mouth. This prompted the team to clean the discharge using running water. Upon further checking, the discharges were undigested partially cooked chicken chick,” the PEF report said.
“During the procedure, eagle Mangayon suddenly jerked its head forcefully and then dropped it. The team attempted to revive the eagle, but by 9:49 p.m., Mangayon was declared deceased,” it added.
“Sad news, we lost the eagle. This eagle could have been saved if immediate intervention was given,” Dr. Jayson Ibañez, PEF director for operations, said.
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Ibañez said that according to Vandenbroeck, PEF veterinary consultant, the bird probably had a female partner. He added that, based on Vandenbroeck’s findings, the eagle could have been saved had its severe injury been treated much earlier.
“We all did our best. Thanks for the prompt response and rescue operation. We hope we can still spare the female eagle and the other eagles there from suffering the same fate,” Ibañez said.
A source told the Inquirer that “jolen” guns were still being used by indigenous peoples in Davao del Sur for hunting.
“The trend is very alarming, pointing to the same old issue of shooting and hunting,” said Ibañez, who appealed to authorities to heighten activities to enforce conservation laws in order to spare the country’s wildlife from the perennial problem of poaching.