PM Abe to name rescued Philippine Eagle as “Sakura”

MindaNews

January 13, 2017
2:01 am

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 12 Jan) — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will name the Philippine Eagle rescued from Talaingod in Davao del Norte last month as “Sakura” (cherry blossoms), Dennis Salvador, Executive Director of the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) told MindaNews on Thursday.

A backgrounder from the PEF said the eagle that will be named “Sakura,” estimated to be around two years old, was rescued “due to an airgun shot to her lower left abdomen.”

The eagle was found at the foot of the Pantaron Range, along the boundaries of Talaingod town in Davao del Norte and San Fernando in Bukidnon, weighing 5.2 kgs, “highly suggestive of her being female,” the PEF backgrounder said.

File photo of a Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi) from the website of the Philippine Eagle Foundation.

“Sakura” was discovered standing at the bank of a river by Ata Manobos who were night-hunting for frogs in the area. The young eagle was allegedly docile and did not resist capture,” it said.

The bird was turned over to the PEF team on December 12, 2016 through Talaingod Mayor Basilio Libayao.

“Sakura” will not be physically present during the naming rites at the Waterfront Insular Hotel. The bird is still undergoing further rehabilitation at the PEF’s Philippine Eagle Center in Malagos, Calinan, this city.

The PEF said the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DERN) and the local government unit of Talaingod “are still searching for the the parents of the Philippine Eagle while further investigating the incident.” (Carolyn O. Arguillas / MindaNews)

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