The foundation released the bird back to the wild to breed on June 12, Philippine Independence Day, about a kilometer (0.62 mile) from where its carcass was found.
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The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is offering a P100,000 reward for information that could lead to the arrest and conviction of whoever shot and killed a Philippine eagle named “Pamana” in Mt. Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary (MHRWS) in Davao Oriental.
The organization, which is dedicated to preserving and protecting the critically endangered birds, explained that despite laws protecting them, “Philippine eagles are still being shot or captured … mostly out of fear and ignorance, or worse, just for sport”.
Bautista said Pamana or the Philippine Eagle is not only a national symbol but also an “ecologically important species” because of its role in the forest’s food chain.
Pamana, a three-year old female Philippine Eagle (pithecophaga jefferyi) was found decomposing with a bullet wound in the chest on August 16 in Mt. Hamiguitan, Davao Oriental, two months after it was released into the wild.
The Swiss-based worldwide Union for the Conservation of Nature lists the species as “critically endangered”, due to the depletion of its tropical rainforest habitat and hunting.
The Philippine eagle is protected under Republic Act 9147 or the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act.
“There is a disconnect between the fact that Pamana was killed in Mount Hamiguitan, and the fact that the mountain range is a protected site”.
Aside from poaching, Bautista said “the Aquino government continues to allow logging and mining concessions in the area”.
Santiago said Pamana was not the first to experience such fate.
“Eagles that were turned over to the Philippine Eagle Center in recent years either had gunshot wounds or were trapped illegally in the wild”, said the group’s website. We need a strong law-enforcement program in place, especially in protected areas.
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She also filed S.R. No. 1347 in May, calling for an investigation on the impact of kaingin and other prevalent forest activities on the dwindling Philippine eagle population in the forests of Samar Island.
