Environment Secretary Ramon Paje: Find eagle’s killer. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / NINO JESUS ORBETA
MANILA, Philippines–Environment authorities in Davao City have been ordered to track down whoever is responsible for shooting dead a Philippine eagle outside a protected area on Mt. Apo, Environment Secretary Ramon Paje said.
The female eagle, which has been monitored by conservationists for years, was found dead on Aug. 14, although Paje apparently learned of it only last Saturday.
“We are appalled by this awful news. It is sad to think that while we are trying to save the endangered Philippine eagle from extinction, there are those who are undermining our conservation efforts,” Paje said in a statement.
The eagle was possibly shot to death, he added, citing an autopsy that showed a crack in its keel bone (attached to the breastbone).
The mother eagle left behind a seven-month-old eaglet and its father, the official said.
The Philippine eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi) is considered one of the biggest, rarest and most powerful birds in the world, and has been declared the country’s national bird. But the massive loss of its habitat due to deforestation has made it a critically endangered species.
Paje said he had ordered regional environment officials in Davao City to seek assistance from the police and the local government to track down the eagle’s killers and charge them in court.
Stricter measures vs poaching
He also urged the Protected Area Management Board of Mt. Apo to institute stricter measures against poaching, and directed the Department of Environment and Natural Resources regional office to conduct a massive information campaign in the area.
The hunting and killing of the Philippine eagle, also known as the monkey-eating eagle, is punishable by 12 years in prison and hefty fines under the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act of 1970 (Republic Act No. 6147).
The Philippine Eagle Foundation reported that the eagle’s decomposing carcass was retrieved in Barangay (village) Kapatagan in Davao City, some 10 kilometers from the eagle’s nesting site in Sitio (settlement) Mitondo in Sibulan, Davao City.
Paje said the DENR would give funds to assist in the supplemental feeding of the eagle’s seven-month-old hatchling.
RELATED STORY