BAGUIO CITY (PIA) – Conservation efforts for the critically-endangered Philippine eagle gets a boost with the recent release of a rescued and fully rehabilitated eagle to its forest habitat in Kabugao, Apayao.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources, together with the Philippine Eagle Foundation, the provincial government of Apayao, and the municipal government of Kabugao, led the release of “Nariha Kabugao” before about hundred well-wishers composed of officials, residents, and other stakeholders in Barangay Bulu, Kabugao on April 12.

A composite team from the DENR thru the Provincial and Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office, the PEF, the local government units of Apayao and Kabugao, and concerned citizens nursed the bird back to health after the eagle was rescued from a farmer in Bulu on March 19, 2024.

The bird underwent various medical procedures and treatment until it fully recovered, and eventually released in the thickly forested area of Paco Valley.  

“Malaking milestone ito sa Philippine Eagle sa Apayao, kasi we are releasing a mature female Philippine Eagle na mayroon pair and mayroong territory,” PEF Director for Research and Conservation Dr. Jayson Ibanez said in an interview.

 [This is a big milestone for the Philippine Eagle in Apayao because we are releasing a mature female Philippine Eagle  that has a pair and a territory.]

A solar-powered GPS-GSM tracker was also installed on Nariha Kabugao before her release.

“By installing a GPS tracker on the eagle, masusundan natin kung saan yung core territory nya, and hopefully this coming mating season malaman natin kung saan sya nag nenest,” Ibanez said.

(By installing a GPS tracker, we can monitor the eagle particularly its core territory and where she is nesting during the mating season.)

DENR- CAR Regional Executive Director Engr. Paquito Moreno urged the public to respect the Philippine Eagle's habitat,  and refrain from harming them through activities like hunting and deforestation.

“I would like to call on everyone, to please let the bird live alone. The challenge, then, is for us to make sure that the Philippine eagle has a home in this mountainous region. Whether it was a migrant or home-grown, the challenge for us now is not just to preserve the Philippine eagle as a species, but to preserve genetic diversity, or the flora and fauna surrounding it. Let us make Kabugao feel home, unthreatened by human existence, and allow it to build a family of its own,” Moreno said.  

He also reassured that the DENR will implement stricter monitoring in eagle habitats and conduct educational initiatives to promote Philippine Eagle conservation.

“We in the DENR, will keep an eye on would-be violators of laws so they could be punished. We will also conduct more information, education, and communication drives, putting in focus the protection of the Philippine eagle, and the preservation of biodiversity in the last nature frontier in far North Luzon, to raise awareness on its importance and our responsibility to protect it,” the he added.

PEF Executive Director Dennis Salvador is hopeful for the continued collaboration and partnership of the various partners from the government and the private sector and the community in the province of Apayao in saving the Philippine Eagle, protecting its forest habitat and securing the welfare of communities who share the forest with the eagles.

“This rescue underscores what is happening to our national bird throughout the country - they get shot at, trapped, and hunted. And yet there is no clear value in killing or capturing this magnificent creature. Apayao is one of the few places in the country that holds large natural areas and harbors our national bird. But two decades ago, it wasn’t even known outside your people that you have the Philippine Eagle. Scientists then thought it didn’t exist in the Cordillera. But Apayao proved them wrong. You have a great natural heritage in your hands - no other province compares to what you have,” Salvador said in his message.

According to the PEF, Nariha Kabugao is the third Philippine eagle to be rescued in Apayao since 2005. When combined with eagle rescue data from the Northern Sierra Madre, at least nine eagles, including Nariha, were trapped since 1999 in Northern Luzon. (RMC- PIA CAR)

 A composite team from the DENR thru the Provincial and Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office, the PEF, the local government units of Apayao and Kabugao, and concerned citizens nursed the bird back to health after the eagle was rescued from a farmer in Bulu on March 19, 2024.

The bird underwent various medical procedures and treatment until it fully recovered, and eventually released in the thickly forested area of Paco Valley.  

“Malaking milestone ito sa Philippine Eagle sa Apayao, kasi we are releasing a mature female Philippine Eagle na mayroon pair and mayroong territory,” PEF Director for Research and Conservation Dr. Jayson Ibanez said in an interview.

 [This is a big milestone for the Philippine Eagle in Apayao because we are releasing a mature female Philippine Eagle  that has a pair and a territory.]

A solar-powered GPS-GSM tracker was also installed on Nariha Kabugao before her release.

“By installing a GPS tracker on the eagle, masusundan natin kung saan yung core territory nya, and hopefully this coming mating season malaman natin kung saan sya nag nenest,” Ibanez said.

(By installing a GPS tracker, we can monitor the eagle particularly its core territory and where she is nesting during the mating season.)

DENR- CAR Regional Executive Director Engr. Paquito Moreno urged the public to respect the Philippine Eagle's habitat,  and refrain from harming them through activities like hunting and deforestation.

“I would like to call on everyone, to please let the bird live alone. The challenge, then, is for us to make sure that the Philippine eagle has a home in this mountainous region. Whether it was a migrant or home-grown, the challenge for us now is not just to preserve the Philippine eagle as a species, but to preserve genetic diversity, or the flora and fauna surrounding it. Let us make Kabugao feel home, unthreatened by human existence, and allow it to build a family of its own,” Moreno said.  

He also reassured that the DENR will implement stricter monitoring in eagle habitats and conduct educational initiatives to promote Philippine Eagle conservation.

“We in the DENR, will keep an eye on would-be violators of laws so they could be punished. We will also conduct more information, education, and communication drives, putting in focus the protection of the Philippine eagle, and the preservation of biodiversity in the last nature frontier in far North Luzon, to raise awareness on its importance and our responsibility to protect it,” the he added.

PEF Executive Director Dennis Salvador is hopeful for the continued collaboration and partnership of the various partners from the government and the private sector and the community in the province of Apayao in saving the Philippine Eagle, protecting its forest habitat and securing the welfare of communities who share the forest with the eagles.

“This rescue underscores what is happening to our national bird throughout the country - they get shot at, trapped, and hunted. And yet there is no clear value in killing or capturing this magnificent creature. Apayao is one of the few places in the country that holds large natural areas and harbors our national bird. But two decades ago, it wasn’t even known outside your people that you have the Philippine Eagle. Scientists then thought it didn’t exist in the Cordillera. But Apayao proved them wrong. You have a great natural heritage in your hands - no other province compares to what you have,” Salvador said in his message.

According to the PEF, Nariha Kabugao is the third Philippine eagle to be rescued in Apayao since 2005. When combined with eagle rescue data from the Northern Sierra Madre, at least nine eagles, including Nariha, were trapped since 1999 in Northern Luzon. (RMC- PIA CAR)

PEF Executive Director Dennis Salvador is hopeful for the continued collaboration and partnership of the various partners from the government and the private sector and the community in the province of Apayao in saving the Philippine Eagle, protecting its forest habitat and securing the welfare of communities who share the forest with the eagles.

“This rescue underscores what is happening to our national bird throughout the country - they get shot at, trapped, and hunted. And yet there is no clear value in killing or capturing this magnificent creature. Apayao is one of the few places in the country that holds large natural areas and harbors our national bird. But two decades ago, it wasn’t even known outside your people that you have the Philippine Eagle. Scientists then thought it didn’t exist in the Cordillera. But Apayao proved them wrong. You have a great natural heritage in your hands - no other province compares to what you have,” Salvador said in his message.

According to the PEF, Nariha Kabugao is the third Philippine eagle to be rescued in Apayao since 2005. When combined with eagle rescue data from the Northern Sierra Madre, at least nine eagles, including Nariha, were trapped since 1999 in Northern Luzon. (JDP/RMC- PIA CAR)