CENRO Kiamba sighted juvenile PH Eagle in Dakeol forest
MAITUM, Sarangani - More Philippine Eagles are inhabiting the Daekol Forest in Maitum town, environment officials here said on Saturday.
On November 4, personnel from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources through the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) of Kiamba noticed the presence of juvenile Philippine eagle in Dakeol Forest— assessed to be declared as Critical Habitat.
The site is in Sitio Angko, Barangay Batian, Maitum, Sarangani Province.
A team from CENRO Kiamba and MENRO of Maitum have traversed Dakeol Forest to monitor the nesting sites of the Philippine eagles observed way back on June this year.
“We came back to monitor the nesting sites of the two Philippine eagle that we observed with the staff of Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) five months ago,” said Edgar Q. Calderon, the team leader and Park Maintenance Foreman of CENRO Kiamba.
The nesting site was observed in the southern part of Dakeol Forest.
According to the virtual assessment of PEF, the said eagle is 10 to 12 months old and considered as juvenile. It is believed that the bird was an offspring of Sarangani Pride.
“As advised by PEF, the said eagle should be put with a tracking device to monitor its route. This will also be the means to locate the rest of the eagle in the said forest,” Mr. Calderon added.
The team also observed two more Philippines eagles in a distant site on the same day. This is in addition to several Philippine Serpent eagle existing in the area.
The DENR and PEF are planning for conservation activities of eagle and other future undertakings in the said area.
Backed up with LGU-Maitum's legislation, DENR is preparing for an administrative order to declare Dakeol Forest as a critical habitat for the Philippine eagle by 2021. (Aileen D. Tenio, IO Designate)