Wounded eagle rescued in Samar

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines—A wounded Philippine eagle has been rescued from the mountain village of Buluan in Calbiga, Samar.

The eagle, which suffered a shotgun wound in the breast, is now recuperating in a half-covered cage inside the compound of the regional office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Tacloban City.

Getting close to the eagle or taking pictures of it is prohibited.

“This retrieval of a Philippine eagle means only one thing: the Philippine eagle is still in the forests of Samar, particularly in areas where there are virgin forests,” said Danilo A. Javier, regional technical director for protected areas, wildlife and coastal zone management services.

It was the first time that the Regional Eagle Watch Team (REWT) had retrieved a live Philippine eagle since it was formed 18 years ago to monitor the existence of Philippine eagle and work for its protection and conservation.

The eagle was already weak from  loss of blood due to a gunshot wound when Pastor Abanag found it on the ground on June 23 in the mountain barangay of Buluan (pronounced as bul-wan), Calibiga, Samar, about 52 km from Tacloban.

“Abanag and his colleagues immediately sought the help of village teachers, who treated the eagle by cleaning thoroughly its wound and giving it an antibiotic tablet,” said Arnulito Viojan, REWT-8 team leader.

But it was only on June 27 when the Calbiga police was informed about the eagle.

Viojan said that on June 28, he received a text message from Bebeth Dacut, a friend from Calbiga town, asking him to go to Calbiga because an eagle had been found.

Calbiga Mayor Melchor Nacario told Pastor Abanag and the residents of Baluan to turn over the bird to the DENR.

Viojan said he went to Calbiga on June 29, but the bird was still in Barangay Buluan, about 20 kilometers away from the town proper.

He was able to retrieve the Philippine Eagle on Friday afternoon. He was accompanied by Dr. Stephen Toledo, a veterinarian, and another person from the National Wildlife Rescue Center.

He added Buluan Barangay Chairman Mario Galvez told him that a  pellet was removed from the wounded eagle.

Upon their arrival in Tacloban City, they went to the Bethany Hospital to have the eagle X-rayed. Apart  from the loss of blood and an unhealed wound, the eagle seemed okay, said Viojan.

Viojan said they might release it into the wild in two or three weeks’ time.

“We hope that we can attach a radio transmitter to the Philippine eagle so that its home range could be determined,” he added.