Young eagle rescued in Bukidnon recovers from wing amputation

DAVAO CITY—A juvenile Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi) is currently recuperating at the Philippine Eagle Center here following a wing amputation last week.

Dr. Bayani Vandenbroeck, the veterinary consultant of the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF), said “Kalatungan 2,” estimated to be age 6 to 7 months, had regained strength several days after the two-hour surgery.

The eaglet was confined for three days in a veterinary clinic after the surgical operation on the left forearm, before being transferred to the center in Malagos District.

Vandenbroeck told the Inquirer that before the surgery, they had “guarded prognosis” about the eaglet’s prospects because it was weak and was battling an infection from a wound on the left wing.

“If the eagle manages to eat on its own then chances of survival are good. Hopefully, eventually it can still be a breeding eagle at the center,” he said.

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Kalatungan 2 was critically injured when rescued in Bagalbal Forest in the Mt. Kalatungan Range Natural Park in Valencia City, Bukidnon, on Aug. 31.

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The eaglet was discovered by Bantay-Lasang (forest guard) volunteers during their routine patrol inside the protected area. It was perched on a tree and was “calling out loudly due to apparent distress and starvation,” according to a PEF incident report.

A rescue team from PEF, composed of breeding and conservation manager Dominic Tadena and field biologist Julia Lynne Allong, rushed to Valencia City and assisted Dr. Cynthia Tabaco of KJT Veterinary Services in stabilizing the bird before bringing it back to Davao City for a thorough examination.

The eagle’s left wing injury required amputation, hence the surgery done on the same day.

‘Persecution’

“It is improbable that the eagle sustained this type of compound fracture and wound solely from a fall from the nest. A more plausible explanation is that the eagle was shot with a high-powered firearm using large ammunition, such as a marble gun or shotgun, which caused the extensive bone fragmentation in the wing at the point of impact,” lamented Vandenbroeck.

“We commend the swift and very professional response of our community, the local government unit and colleagues at the environment department in Valencia City because this prompt action certainly saved the life of the poor eaglet,” Dennis Salvador, PEF executive director, said in a statement.

“But while we commend the prompt action of our partners, we are also deeply distressed by the continued persecution of our national bird in the wild. Each individual counts, and we all need to work together to stop this,” Salvador pointed out.

Kalatungan 2 is the fifth and youngest among the eagles rescued by the PEF this year, an alarming trend, said Dr. Jayson Ibañez, PEF director for operations.

It was the second to be rescued on the edges of the Kalatungan range. Of the five rescued this year, four belong to the “juvenile-immature” age group.

The eagles, according to Ibañez, were “apparently victims of human persecution.”

“They are mostly naive and less experienced young eagles, hence most vulnerable to human harm. We need more public education and wildlife law enforcement, but it might be prudent also to capture and move (or translocate) these innocent birds to vacant, safer, and more protected forest habitats to spare them from needless torment,” Ibañez told the Inquirer.

On Aug. 30, the PEF and Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office of Davao de Oro conducted an information drive among members of the Philippine Army assigned in Nabunturan, Davao de Oro, including the team of soldiers who rescued eagle “Mangayon” in Compostela town in July, orienting them on the laws that protect the country’s national bird, which is critically endangered.

Experts estimated that there are only 392 pairs of the raptors left in the wild.

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