DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 5 Aug)—Philippine Eagle “Uswag” was suspected to have died from drowning more than a month after it was released in Marabong Watershed in Burauen, Leyte on June 28, 2024, according to the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF).
Philippine Eagle ‘Uswag’ inside a holding cage a day before its release in the mountains of Burauen, Leyte. Photo taken 27 June 2024. MindaNews file photo
In a report released by PEF on Monday, the cause of death was suspected to be “accidental drowning.”
The raptor’s carcass was found floating, together with a debris of seagrass and algae, in the waters of the municipality of Pilar in Cebu on the third day of the “search and rescue” operation last August 3. Pilar in Ponson Island is part of the Camotes Islands situated between Cebu and Leyte.
Veterinarians, who examined the eagle, believed that the eagle had been dead for four to five days before it was retrieved.
The report noted that the recent rains and winds caused by the Southwest monsoon could have affected the raptor’s “flight bearings and got sucked in towards the sea.”
“It is very unfortunate that we lost Philippine Eagle ‘Uswag’ to accidental drowning. He was healthy and fit and there were evidences based on field observations that he has already hunted successfully in the wild during the first few days after his release,” it said.
Based on the initial examination on the eagle’s remains, there was no anomaly evident in the bird’s carcass as veterinarians found “no visible evidence of shooting, trauma, or bodily injury.”
Last July 30, Dr. Jayson Ibañez, PEF director for operations, received the coordinates transmitted by the GPS tracking device installed on Uswag to his email, indicating that the location of the eagle was already at sea on that day.
Prior to this, Ibanez also received similar GPS reading for Uswag on July 9, showing that the eagle was on the western slopes of the Mt. Pangasugan Range in Baybay City, approximately 5.98 kilometers away from its location on July 30.
Ibañez immediately flew to Tacloban City on July 31 and commenced search and recovery operations on August 1.
PEF released Philippines Eagles “Uswag” and “Carlito” in Leyte as part of the foundation’s Philippine Eagle Reintroduction Program last June 28.
Under this program, PEF sought to re-establish the population of eagles in Leyte, which was believed to have been wiped out by Super Typhoon Yolanda in 2013.
Dr. Jayson Ibañez, Philippine Eagle Foundation director for operations, and animal keeper Dominic Tadena carry ‘Uswag’ and ‘Carlito’ in the mountainous village of Kagbana in Burauen, Leyte weeks before the eagles’ release into the wild. MindaNews file photo
According to PEF, Uswag, formerly named “Sibulan,” was a three-year-old male eagle rescued at the foot of Mt. Apo in Davao City in 2023.
It said Uswag was already the ninth case of wild eagles accidentally crashing at sea.
In 2022, fisherfolks discovered the remains of Philippine Eagle “Maasim III” at the coast of Maasim town Sarangani Province.
It said that seven out of eight birds that crashed at sea since 1984 were “miraculously alive and saved by fishermen.”
PEF vowed to “investigate and explore systematic geographic information or GIS mapping and modelling of topography, wind-patterns, and other climate parameters at these crash sites to determine patterns and assess risks.”
“Doing so can allow us to predict which areas within Leyte and other future release sites, as well as in suitable Philippine eagle habitats across the country, have the highest risk of crashes. This, in turn, has very important management and conservation implications particularly in this era where global climate change can exacerbate mortality rates among wild Philippine eagles, which can further drive them to extinction,” it added. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
