DAVAO CITY — A retired policeman from Mati City in Davao Oriental rescused a young serpent eagle from a poacher in the coastal village of Macambol in the City of Mati in Davao Oriental in the morning of May 31, 2022.
Retired policeman Ferdinand Mabandos, who owns a beach resort in Mati City, said he immediately confiscated the young serpent eagle from a poacher who passed through his beach resort.
The serpent eagle is an eagle found in the major islands of the Philippines. It is sometimes treated as a race of the crested serpent eagle. This species is usually found in forest clearings, open woodlands, and sometimes in cultivated lands with scattered trees. It is endemic to the Philippines.
Zaldy Lumaan, the city’s environment chief, says that although serpent eagles are not classified as among those endangered birds, “It is still illegal to capture them.”
The rescued eagle was turned over by Mabandos and his wife to a DENR office in Mati City on Wednesday afternoon. It is set be transferred to a rehabilitation facility in Tagum City, Davao del Norte.
The coastal village of Macambol was declared a Philippine Eagle Sanctuary by the national government. It is part of the Mount Hamiguitan Range and Wildlife Sanctuary, the only World Heritage Site in Mindanao. – with report from PIO DavOr
