Text and photos by Henrylito D. Tacio
“We are a high-biodiversity country, that some of our unique bird species have been part of our natural heritage. If they disappear, part of us will actually disappear along with them,” Dr. Theresa Mundita Lim, the director of the Biodiversity Management Bureau, a line agency of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, told Manila Bulletin last year.
But don’t worry; there are people who are trying to save the Philippine birds from vanishing in this part of the world. You need to meet Dr. Roberto “Bo” Puentespina Jr., one of those who dedicated his life in saving the birds.
On November 10, 1995, he was busy working at his veterinary clinic in Davao City when he received a phone call from a government official in Tandag, Surigao del Sur, that a wild caught Philippine eagle was delivered to the municipality by a farmer who claimed he saw the bird on the forest floor. It had a broken leg from snare trapping.
Upon hearing the news, Dr. Bo immediately decided to go. Three people accompanied him: Edison Dayos and Lito Cereno, the animal technician and education officer, respectively of the Philippine Eagle Foundation; and Rene Lumawag, a photojournalist who documented the trip.
Tandag is about 400 kilometers east of Mindanao. Going to the place by vehicle would entail long time travel – more than a day. Fortunately, the Philippine Air Force had air assets based in Davao airport. “When the plane or helicopters are not being used, we can request them for our rescue missions. I think I went on 3 rescue flights and those birds we rescued have all survived,” Dr. Bo recalls.
When the group arrived, Dr. Bo immediately went to the covered gym court located at the town proper where the female juvenile eagle was confined. He saw the eagle tied on one leg, with wings drooping (a sign of stress), soiled feathers, some flies around, but still alert and responsive. Generally, birds don’t show themselves as weak unless they’re about to die.
After explaining the observations of the physical exam and prognosis with some government officials and community elders, he wrapped the eagle with a clean blanket, covered the eyes with a hood, and cradled the bird in his arms. They again boarded the Philippine Air Force Islander aircraft and went back to Davao City.
Once he got back to the Philippine Eagle Conservation Center at Malagos, Calinan, Dr. Bo performed the necessary tests like X-ray, blood and microbiology samples collection. He put a splint on the broken leg and gave the bird some admission drugs and food. For the next five days, he monitored the health status of the bird.
After three weeks, the eagle was on its way to full recovery.
These days, Dr. Bo is very much displeased with the current status of the birds in the country. This was the reason why he turned 3-hectare of the 40-hectare resort in Malagos which his family owns into a bird sanctuary.
Because of his passion for birds, people bring to him their injured pets or wild birds. He then decides what’s best for them once they are in better health. “We release birds that can be released after rehabilitation, especially raptors like owls, serpent eagles, kites, and crows,” he says. “Rescue and rehab activities are a team effort, and we have released at least 50 individuals of different species.”
If there are birds that cannot be released due to broken wings or leg or blindness, he pairs them for conservation breeding program. “The Palawan peacock pheasants, nicobar pigeons, Mount Apo lorikeets, Mindanao tarictic hornbills, Eclectus parrots, umbrella cockatoos, sea eagles, and Scops owls are some examples of successful breeding from rehabilitated birds we have kept for conservation breeding,” Dr. Bo says.
His last option for other birds is to use them in the bird show he conducts at the resort as part of his education efforts. “The number of birds I have adopted after rehabilitation has grown – from raptors to parrots to jungle fowls,” he says.
These days, what gives him instant happiness are seeing those birds he has rescued through the years alive and flying. But he will feel even happier seeing those birds thriving in the wild. “Maybe not now, but perhaps in the near future, or my children’s future” he says.
A sanctuary for Philippine eagles
The Philippine Eagle Conservation Center is perhaps one of the most sophisticated sanctuaries for the Philippine birdicon. But not too many Filipinos know that the eagle camp – as it was then known – was first built at barangay Baracatan in Toril.
Dennis Salvador, who is now the center’s executive director, was then in-charge with the eagles’ foods. “Every week, I had to go down to the town and purchased native chickens and goats,” he says. “I loaded them up to the roof of the public jeepney then riding along with them all the way to Baracatan. But the jeepney terminal was about two kilometers away from the camp so I had to carry the chickens on my back while pulling the goats.”
Since insurgency was at its peak then, they were often isolated and left alone as neighbors would go to evacuation centers. “At night, we would dread hearing the dogs barking because that meant that rebels were just around the corner,” he says.
Another pressure they had to face at that time was from a government agency. “They were hot on our heels trying to their best to take the eagles from us and relocating the entire operation to a state university in Luzon,” Salvador shares. “In the end, they simply stopped funding the project.”
Media attention and support from the local government unit of Davao City kept the agency from taking the eagles “so they just left us on our own.” It was until a couple of howitzer shells that fell some 50 meters from its facility that they finally decided to leave Baracatan and move to Malagos.
In those days, there were only six of them in the technical team, including three from the government agency. When the said agency stopped funding the program in 1987, the three personnel also left.
Without any financial assistance, the group persisted. “We were basically operating on nothing,” Salvador says. “We had to sell some of our personal belongings just to feed the eagles. We waived our salaries for over a year. We solicited from local businesses to make ends meet. In addition, we had to work under adverse conditions as we were often caught in the middle of the crossfire between the military and the rebels operating in the Mt. Apo area.”
Despite all these setbacks, Salvador and his team continued. “Many of the technical problems we encountered from the beginning were resolved from constant experimentation, from trial and error, but always using the rigor of sound scientific research,” he says.
In 1992, Salvador became the executive director of the foundation. It was on this year that foundation was able to breed an eagle in captivity. “The success of the birth of Pag-asa attracted biologists and other young graduates into the program. They were amazed to find out that what we were doing was not the way they were featured in the movies or television channels,” he says. “Working with eagles was hard, dangerous work.”
Salvador says with pride of what he and his team have accomplished through the years. “The success of captive breeding of the eagle Pag-asa brought the country’s attention to the plight of the species and was probably instrumental in turning the species into our national bird,” he points out.
