Philippines: Endangered Monkey-eating Eagle shot and wounded in Philippines

24th February 2016;

An endangered Monkey-eating Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi) which was released into the wild under a conservation programme is now fighting for survival after being shot, a Philippine conservation group said Wednesday.

The metre-long (3.3-foot) raptor, which preys on Macaques (Macaca fascicularis) and other small animals sharing its forest habitat, was shot at the weekend.

One man surrendered to the Philippine Eagle Foundation in Davao city on Mindanao island on Sunday and also handed over the injured bird, the Philippine Eagle Foundation said in a statement.

He, along with a second man, was turned over to the police. Both are under arrest.

“The wounded Eagle is under observation but I cannot assess its survival chances at this time,” the foundation’s curator Anna Mae Sumaya told AFP.

The foundation said the shooting shattered the bird’s right wing. It was unclear if the six-year-old male would ever fly again.

Killing Monkey-eating Eagles is punishable by a 12-year prison term and a one million-peso ($21,000) fine, while wounding the species incurs a four-year prison term and a half million-peso fine.

The bird is famed for its elongated nape feathers that form into a shaggy crest. Its two-metre wingspan makes it one of the world’s largest Eagles.

It is found nowhere except the Philippines, where it is the country’s national bird. About 600 of them are thought to be left in the wild.

Source: AFP

Philippines: Endangered Monkey-eating Eagle shot and wounded in Philippines

Philippines: Philippine Eagle fighting for survival after being shot

24th February 2016;

An endangered Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi) which was released into the wild under a conservation program is now fighting for survival after being shot, a Philippine conservation group said Wednesday, February 24.

The meter-long (3.3-foot) Monkey-eating Eagle, which preys on Macaques (Macaca fascicularis) and other small animals sharing its forest habitat, was shot over the weekend.

One man surrendered to the Philippine Eagle Foundation in Davao City on Mindanao island on Sunday, February 21, and also handed over the injured bird, the Philippine Eagle Foundation said in a statement.

He, along with a second man, was turned over to the police. Both are under arrest.

“The wounded eagle is under observation but I cannot assess its survival chances at this time,” the foundation’s curator Anna Mae Sumaya told AFP.

The foundation said the shooting shattered the bird’s right wing. It was unclear if the 6-year-old male would ever fly again.

Killing Monkey-eating Eagles is punishable by a 12-year prison term and a P1 million ($21,000) fine, while wounding the species incurs a 4-year prison term and a half million-peso fine.

In August 2015, 3-year-old Philippine Eagle Pamana was found dead two months after being released into the wild. The bird had a bullet hole in the right breast.

The Philippine Eagle is famed for its elongated nape feathers that form into a shaggy crest. Its two-meter wingspan makes it one of the world’s largest eagles.

It is found nowhere except the Philippines, where it is the country’s national bird. About 600 of them are thought to be left in the wild.

Source: Rappler

Philippines: Philippine Eagle fighting for survival after being shot

Philippines: 2 charged for shooting Eagle in Davao City

24th February 2016;

Charges have been filed before the City Prosecution Office against two men who allegedly shot a Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi) in Baguio District in Davao City last February 21.

Facing charges for violation of Republic Act (RA) 9147 or The Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act, are Tiburcio Solis Aparesion, 24, and his brother Rolando, 18, both of the same place.

The Aparesions were also charged with violation of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) Resolution 3328 or the Comelec gun ban.

Rolando was separately charged with violation of RA 10591 or The Comprehensive Law on Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act.

Personnel of the Baguio police brought the suspects before City Prosecutor Rizalyn Y. Gonzales-Pontanos at around 4:22 p.m. on Tuesday for inquest proceedings.

The two suspects were arrested after turning themselves to Baguio police and admitted to have shot the Eagle named Matatag.

Baguio police head Chief Insp. Leonardo Pamplona said Tiburcio first showed up at the station followed by Rolando, who turned over the caliber .22 rifle used in the shooting to the police.

Pamplona said they already have a witness who will testify against the two suspects. The legal counsel of the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) also vowed to file charges against the suspects, who are now detained at the Baguio Police Station.

Source: Sun.Star

Philippines: 2 charged for shooting Eagle in Davao City

Philippines: Philippine Eagle Matatag shot, survives

24th February 2016;

A Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi) was shot and wounded in Barangay Tambobong in Baguio District, Davao City last Sunday (Feb. 21).

It was identified as Matatag, the Eagle which underwent rehabilitation at the Philippine Eagle Center (PEC) in Davao City and was released to the wild in December 2014.

The suspects Tiburcio Aparecio and his younger brother Rolando Aparecio surrendered to the police. They are currently detained at the Baguio Police Precinct.

The brothers will be held liable for violation of Administrative Order 235 series of 1970 which prohibits the wounding, taking, selling/ exporting, processing and killing of the Philippine Eagle and Republic Act 9147 or the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act.

The police is also charging them for violation of the Commission on Elections gun ban as the shooter had use 22. caliber rifle which was recovered by the police.

Tiburcio initially surrendered to the police, however his brother Rolando later owned up to the crime.

Matatag meanwhile survived the shooting which hit his left wing, the Eagle is now being treated at the PEC.

The Eagle was formerly a caged bird turned over in 2011 to the Philippine Eagle Foundation, he was known for being contemptuous and aggressive towards his handlers, a sign that he was meant for the wild.

In late 2014 he was released in the ancestral forests of the Obu Manuvu indigenous people in Barangay Carmen, Davao City. In January this year PEF had monitored that Matatag has been moving away from his birth place and release site.

Scientists call this phase as a dispersal stage when Eagles already free from parental care wander away from their birth place. It begins at two-years old until the time when the sexually-mature Eagle pairs up with another Eagle of the opposite sex and establish their own territory.

Matatag had an attached radio transmitter on his back with indigenous forest guards monitoring his movements using radio telemetry.

Source: Philippine Information Agency

Philippines: Philippine Eagle Matatag shot, survives

Philippines: Philippine Eagle ‘Matatag’ found wounded

24th February 2016;

The Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi) named Matatag was found to have an injured wing and was weak, a few days after it was turned over to the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF).

The wounded Eagle was turned over to the police by Tiburcio Aparesio, who also admitted to shooting the bird.

Aparesio said he accidentally shot the Eagle when he was just trying to keep it from eating his chickens.

However, while he was at the police station, Tiburcio’s brother, Rolando, also admitted that he shot the Eagle.

The Foundation has decided to leave the investigation into the real culprit with the police and who will be charged with violation of the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act, illegal possession of firearms and violation of the election gun ban.

“Nabaril niya ang ibon at sinabi niya na hindi niya alam na Philippine Eagle pala ito,” said Baguio City Police Chief Insp. Leonardo Pamplona.

It can be recalled that more than a year ago, that the Foundation released Matatag into the wilderness.

It was also in August last year that a Philippine Eagle, Pamana, was shot dead in Davao Oriental.

Department of Environment and Natural Resources officials suspected that Pamana was shot during practice shooting.

Pamana was the 30th Philippine Eagle that was found either shot or injured.

According to the International Union for Conservsation of Nature and Natural Resources, the Philippine Eagle is a Critically Endangered species because of its decreasing population.

In 2003, there were only 250 to 750 Eagles left and the PEF said there are only about 400 pairs of Philippine Eagles left in the wild.

Based on the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act, penalties for killing critically endangered species like the Philippine Eagle include imprisonment from six months to 12 years and fine of up to P 1 million.

Source: GMA News Online

Philippines: Philippine Eagle ‘Matatag’ found wounded

Philippines: 2 nabbed for shooting Eagle in Davao

By Jeepy P. Compio, 23rd February 2016;

Police arrested two siblings who owned up to the shooting of “Matatag”, a Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi) released in the wild by the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF), at Sitio Mangas-as, Barangay Tambobong in Baguio District, Davao City on Sunday.

The suspects were identified as Tiburcio Solis Aparesio, 24, and his brother Rolando, 18, who turned themselves in to the Baguio Police on Monday after owning up to the shooting of Matatag.

Police Chief Inspector Leonardo Pamplona chief of the Baguio Police Station told Sun.Star Davao SuperBalita in a phone interview, “Nag-voluntary surrender silang duha, nag-inangkunay sila sa ilang sala, mao sab ni among basis sa pag-file og kaso nilang duha (They voluntarily surrendered and admitted their fault so this will be our basis for the filing of charges).”

Pamplona said they already have a witness who will testify against the suspect while he also bared that the legal counsel of PEF has expressed its intent to file charges against the suspects.

The chief of the Baguio Police added that Rolando has also turned over the caliber .22 rifle which he allegedly used in shooting the endangered Eagle and was also found to be unlicensed.

The two are set to face raps for violation of the Republic Act 9147 or the Wild Life Resources Conservation and Protection Act and the Republic Act 10591 or the Comprehensive Law on Firearms and Ammunition.

The two are currently detained at the Baguio Police Station.

Source: Sun.Star

Philippines: 2 nabbed for shooting Eagle in Davao

Philippines: Serpent Eagle rescued in Zamboanga City

By RJ Rosalado, 25th August 2015;

A Philippine Serpent Eagle (Spilornis holospilus) was rescued by residents in Barangay Ayala, Zamboanga City on Sunday morning.

The Eagle was found by residents near the vicinity of Zamboanga City Police Station 9. It appeared weak and could hardly spread its wings.

Residents sought the assistance of the policemen, who then called the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

Ben Acana, head of the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office, said the Serpent Eagle is about 2 to 3 months old. He suspects the Eagle was domesticated by a local resident near the area where it was found.

Acana said based on their initial observations, the Serpent Eagle found it difficult to adjust to the wild.

The Serpent Eagle was brought to the DENR’s wildlife rescue center for observation.

The Eagle will be released in the wild as soon as its condition permits.

Based on Republic Act 9147 or the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act, killing, catching and transporting any wildlife animals are prohibited and punishable.

Source: ABS-CBN News

Philippines: Serpent Eagle rescued in Zamboanga City

Philippines: Province seeks ‘understanding’ in eagle’s death

23rd August 2015;

The heritage officer of Davao Oriental province on Friday appealed for understanding and urged the people and the UN heritage agency not to condemn them for the death of Pamana, the Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi) that had been released in the province’s wildlife sanctuary.

Dolores Valdesco, speaking on behalf of the provincial government of Davao Oriental, said it was unfair of people to judge them as “incapable of protecting important wildlife species with just that one isolated case.” As host to Pamana’s new habitat, the provincial government was also “very concerned about the incident,” she said.

Capable of protection

“By the continued rich biodiversity of the Mt. Hamiguitan Range, we have already proven to the world our capability to protect [wildlife],” she said, noting that Davao Oriental was identified as one of the provinces with the most number of Philippine Eagles.

Dennis Salvador, executive director of the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF), earlier said Pamana’s killing showed “we have problems in our protected areas.”

“Basically we have problems in our protected areas, whether it’s the ability to enforce the law or the will [to enforce it],” Salvador said.

Pamana was released back to the wild on Mt. Hamiguitan in Davao Oriental on June 12 after undergoing rehabilitation at the PEF center here for two gunshot wounds she sustained in Iligan City in 2012.

Recovery

On Aug. 16, her decomposing remains were recovered by PEF biologists and forest guards near a creek on Mt. Hamiguitan. She had apparently died from a gun pellet wound in her right chest.

Valdesco said they were investigating the incident to find the culprit.

“It is very heartbreaking and very unfortunate that it happened in our province and on Mt. Hamiguitan Range,” she said.

She added the eagle was found outside the core of the Mt. Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary.

Reward offered

The reward offered for the identification and arrest of Pamana’s killer has grown to P300,000. A day after a national agency, a governor and a television personality raised P200,000 in reward money, a civic organization in Davao del Norte — The Fraternal Order of Eagles (FOE) — announced it was pitching in P100,000 for the reward.

“We would like to support efforts for the quest of justice for the fallen national bird to which we owe our name,” Dennis Denora, president of one of the FOE clubs in the Davao region, said.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer

Philippines: Province seeks ‘understanding’ in eagle’s death

Pamana’s remains as they were found on the forest floor, August 16.
Photo: Philippine Eagle Foundation/AFP

Philippines: Rare Philippine Eagle killed by unknown perpetrators
19th August 2015;

Just two months after it was released back into the wild, a rare Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi) was found killed in Mt. Hamiguitan, Davao Oriental, a UNESCO-recognized wildlife sanctuary.

The Eagle, named “Pamana”, was rescued as a young eaglet in 2012 in Iligan City, where she was found injured with two gunshot wounds, one each on her left breast and left wing.

Experts from the Philippine Eagle Foundation in Davao City, where she was brought for treatment, believed that poachers targeted the bird for her talons, which could fetch up to $200 a pair in the black market.

Pamana made a full recovery and was released back into the wild on Independence Day, June 12, only to be found dead with a gunshot wound to its chest last August 16.

The raptor’s remains were found on the forest floor last weekend with a gunshot wound on its right breast, the foundation said.

Other body parts of an Eagle, including its head, feathers and wings, are also valued by collectors.

Pamana was the 30th Philippine Eagle to be found dead or wounded out of an estimated population of just 400 pairs in the wild, which reside mainly on the large southern island of Mindanao, its executive director Joseph Salvador said.

“Unfortunately, one person with a gun thinks he can shoot anything,” Salvador told AFP, adding no one has been arrested in the latest incident.

“The potential to teach people the importance of the Eagles to wildlife and biodiversity has been compromised.”

Famed for its elongated nape feathers that form into a shaggy crest, the Philippine Eagle, one of the world’s largest, grows up to a metre (3.3 feet) long with a two-metre wingspan.

Authorities hope that a radio transmitter attached to Pamana for tracking purposes will reveal more clues as to the exact location and possible circumstances of its killing.

Philippine Eagles kill Macaques (Macaca fascicularis) and other smaller animals for food and need vast tracts of forest as hunting grounds, routinely driving away rivals from their territory.

Gunshots accounted for nine out of every 10 Philippine Eagle casualties recorded by the foundation over seven years.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the Philippine Eagle as “Critically Endangered,” facing severe habitat loss and an extreme fluctuating population.

Source: GMA News Online

Philippines: Endangered Philippine Eagle shot dead three years after rescue

19th August 2015;

A rare giant Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi) has been shot dead two months after being released back into the wild following treatment for another shooting, in a blow to efforts to save the species from extinction, conservationists said Wednesday.

The raptor’s remains were found on a forest floor last weekend with a gunshot wound on its right breast, three years after it was rescued and treated, the Philippine Eagle Foundation said.

It was the 30th to be found dead or wounded out of an estimated population of just 400 pairs in the wild, which reside mainly on the large southern island of Mindanao, its executive director Joseph Salvador said.

“Unfortunately, one person with a gun thinks he can shoot anything,” Salvador told AFP, adding no one has been arrested in the latest incident.

“The potential to teach people the importance of the Eagles to wildlife and biodiversity has been compromised.”

Famed for its elongated nape feathers that form into a shaggy crest, the Philippine Eagle, one of the world’s largest, grows up to a metre (3.3 feet) long with a two-metre wingspan.

The Swiss-based International Union for the Conservation of Nature lists the species as “Critically Endangered”, due to the depletion of its tropical rainforest habitat and hunting.

Philippine Eagles kill Macaques (Macaca fascicularis) and other smaller animals for food and need vast tracts of forest as hunting grounds, routinely driving away rivals from their territory.

Gunshots accounted for nine out of every 10 Philippine Eagle casualties recorded by the foundation over seven years.

The latest bird to be killed had been rescued as a juvenile three years ago and treated for superficial gunshot wounds.

Returned to the wild in Mindanao’s Mount Hamiguitan reserve two months ago, the Eagle’s carcass was tracked about a kilometre (half a mile) away from where it was released, after a fitted radio transmitter indicated the bird had stopped moving.

Killing critically endangered Philippine species is punishable by up to 12 years in prison and a fine of up to one million pesos ($21,600). Salvador said the foundation would press charges once the Eagle’s killer was found.

Guarding the bird, also called the “Monkey-eating Eagle”, is compounded by inadequate forest rangers, with just six assigned to the vast Hamiguitan range, Salvador said.

Source: Yahoo! News

Philippines: Endangered Philippine Eagle shot dead three years after rescue