Mlang farmer discovers eaglets

MLANG, North Cotabato -—A Moro farmer accidentally found two eaglets in a remote village here while he was on his way to the Liguasan Marsh area to fish. Abdul Balono, a farmer of Barangay Dugong, a Moro dominated village in Mlang,said at first he heard chirping of birds in a nearby bushy area of the marsh. Out of his curiosity, he proceeded to the place and was surprised to findbirds trapped in a bush and as if they were looking for their mother. Basa man na sila sang nakit-an ko,”(They were wet when I saw them), Balono said. Balono said he immediately picked the eaglets and brought them home. Then heinformed the village chief of his discovery. He added that being a Moro settler, he is aware that the portion of the Liguasan Marsh in Mlang is very rich of different kinds of animals particularly, the crocodiles and tarsiers. Waay ko gapati nga ara man gali agila dira,” (At first I don’t believe that there are eagles in that area), Balono added. The farmer decided to turn over the birds to their village officials who along with him brought the eaglets to the office of the mayor Saturday afternoon. Harold Santillan, the town’s tourism officer, said the birds are healthy after a check by a veterinarian on their health conditions. Santillan said for the meantime the birds will remain in their custody but they will coordinate with the office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). We will contact the right agency because we don’t have the capacity and we are not knowledgeable how to take good care of these birds,” Santillan said. Santillan said the birds are similar to serpent eagles but he clarified that only the DENR can validate his claim. The town’s tourism officer also confirmed that the portion of the Liguasan Marsh in Mlang is rich endangered animals. He said in May last year a family of tarsiers was also found in that area. But the most popular discovery in the marsh was the crocodile named Malang which was accidentally fished offby the group of fishermen in Barangay Dunguan in April last year. We appealed to our constituents living within the marsh peripheries that if they found these kinds of animals don’t catch or harm them,” Santillan said.