Eaglets caught by farmer in Kidapawan to be turned over to foundation

KIDAPAWAN CITY—Two Philippine eaglets caught by a farmer in a village beside the country’s highest peak will be turned over to the Philippine Eagle Foundation, Mayor Joseph Evangelista said on Monday.

Evangelista earlier ordered the medical checkup of the endangered birds after village officials informed him that these were kept by farmer Vanis Sumalinog in Barangay (village) Nuangan.

The Kidapawan City veterinary office reported to Evangelista that the eaglets were doing fine.

The eaglets, a male and a female and believed to be siblings, are at least 4 months old.

Sumalinog, 30, told Evangelista that he got hold of the eaglets in late January while he was in the border of Barangay Nuangan in Kidapawan City and Barangay Buhay of Makilala town, also in North Cotabato province, to hunt for wild boars.

In an earlier interview, Sumalinog claimed that he did not know that the young birds were eaglets. This time, however, he told the mayor a different story.

Evangelista said Sumalinog claimed that the chicks were newly hatched when these fell from a lauan tree.

“The nest helped protect the chicks from injury when they fell to the ground,” Evangelista quoted him as saying.

The mayor said Sumalinog claimed that when he picked up the nest, a huge eagle, which he believed was the mother, attacked him. Sumalinog said he managed to avoid the eagle’s claws and ran.

The farmer also said three more adult eagles were hovering over the huge trees in the village minutes after he got hold of the eaglets, according to Evangelista.

After taking care of the eaglets for months, Sumalinog decided to inform his neighbors, Nuangan village council members Christina Padaya and Melecion Lambac, and who, in turn, informed Evangelista. Edwin Fernandez, Inquirer Mindanao