Davao City – Five months after being released back to the wild in Mt.
Kitanglad Range Natural Park, juvenile male Philippine Eagle Kagsabua was killed by a still unidentified suspect.
Since his release last March, Kagsabua has frequented forested valleys near the foothills of Mt. Kitanglad feeding on a variety of prey, including its favorite flying lemur. The Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) team has been tracking him via radio transceivers and has observed the eagle.
On July 12, the team went looking for Kagsabua for a scheduled re-trapping. It had been decided earlier to take the eagle further into the forest interior.
According to Jayson Ibañez, field research coordinator of the PEF, the team became alarmed when the tracking device detected Kagsabua’s transmitters in mortality mode. The radio transceiver was receiving rapid signals which meant that the animal has not been moving.
After hours of trekking, the radio and satellite transmitters attached to Kagsabua were found buried in a steep ravine of Mapolo Creek between the towns of Sumilao and Impasug-ong in Bukidnon. The harness connected to the transmitters was gone and a few meters away, nape feathers of a Philippine eagle were found. A piece of abaca rope about three feet long was also seen close to the transmitters.
Kagsabua’s decaying tarsi and his leg band were later found below the
black wattle tree where the bird was last seen perching. The retrieval of the transmitters and the leg band confirmed that Kagsabua has been killed.
Sumilao Mayor Marie Ann Baula mobilized the municipal police to conduct preliminary investigations and ordered the Bantay Bayan, and the citizen’s volunteer organization to assist in tracing those behind the crime. The Association of Porters in Sitio Intavas in the neighboring town of Impasug-ong also joined the search operations.
“Kagsabua’s release here in Sumilao has renewed our town’s commitment to a healthy environment. I’m very sad that we lost him because of the ill intentions of the culprit,” Mayor Baula said.
She explained that the immediate arrest of the perpetrator will shed light on why some people still harm the Philippine eagle despite laws and extensive education campaigns protecting our national bird.
Protected Area Superintendent Felix Mirasol has mobilized the Kitanglad Guard Volunteers to continue scouring the mountain range to look for traces of the eagle and search for more evidence.
Mirasol expressed frustration over the crime and has offered a P10,000 cash reward for information leading to the capture of the perpetrator and P5,000 will be given to those who can point to individuals keeping body parts of the eagle.
“We will definitely file a case against the perpetrator. We have to teach people the value of protecting this great bird,” Mirasol said.
Dennis Salvador, PEF executive director, explained that “this incident underscores what we’ve been suspecting for a long time that young eagles die mainly due to human persecution.”
With the rate young birds are dying, Salvador pointed that there is a probability that aging breeding populations will not be replaced and if this continues to happen, the already dwindling eagle population will crash.
“It’s too bad that a single person can undo the efforts of the entire Sumilao community in protecting the bird,” Salvador said, but added that he is hopeful that the culprit will be caught. He believes that the outcome of this case will test the limits of Republic Act 9147or the Wildlife Conservation and Protection Act.
Section 28 of R.A. 9147 stipulates that those who kill critically endangered species like the Philippine Eagle will face “imprisonment of a minimum of six (6) years and one (1) day to twelve (12) years and/or a fine of One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00) to One million pesos (P1,000,000.00).”
Meanwhile, PEF President Lt. Gen. William Hotchkiss III (Ret.) said that the incident reflects the need to further educate people on the importance of the Philippine eagle to the Filipino nation.
“The crime against Kagsabua is a crime done to the Filipino people. The Philippine eagle is a national pride and its persistence reflects how we treat our environment,” Hotchkiss said.
He urged citizens, especially those living near protected areas and critical habitats, to rally behind the protection of the Philippine eagle and called on them to be vigilant against those who seek to harm the bird.
Aside from Kagsabua, a female juvenile Philippine eagle named Tinuy-an, was also released at the Mt. Kitanglad Range Natural Park last June. By Makki Macahis, PEF
These treasures showed up on a low-tide in Tagnanan Beach, somewhere inside a banana plantation in Davao del Norte. Pebbles, sea shells and corals still abound in the rarely visited area. Families of plantation employees frequent the beach front which is only a few meters walk from the housing site.
A fisherfolk from Mati, Davao Oriental boasts of his freshly caught octopus, while eight-year old Emjay got curious to hold his newfound friend's catch. He offered to sell it for P400 but no tourists who flocked in Canibad Beach in Samal Island bought it. Too expensive, right? 