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Uswag is believed to have drowned just one month after being released in Leyte
MANILA, Philippines — One month ago Release into the wild In Leyte, the Philippine eagle Uswag was found dead in the sea near Barangay Cavite, Pilar, Cebu.
Members of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), representatives of the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF), and volunteer fishermen found the body of the three-year-old raptor in the waters of Pilar on Saturday, August 3, after a 42-hour search and rescue operation.
“The Uswag was found floating on the sea with the GPS transmitter pointing upwards and the miniature solar panels exposed to the sun. The body had begun to decompose,” the PEF report reads.
PEF Director Jayson Ibañez received a set of GPS readings showing the Uswag at sea on Tuesday, July 30. Prior to that, on July 9, Ibañez received GPS readings showing the Uswag on the western slope of Mount Pangasugan in Baibay Municipality, Leyte.
On Wednesday, July 31, Ibanez and other PEF members flew to Tacloban City, Leyte, along with representatives from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Regional Office in Eastern Visayas, to arrange for the search and recovery operation.
The team began searching in Baibai City on Thursday, August 1. On Friday, August 2, another set of GPS readings showed Uswag on the coast between Poro and Ponson islands in Cebu.
A PCG member found Uswag’s body at the confluence of two currents around 3:30 pm on Saturday. Volunteer fisherman Mark Brian Corminas pulled the body out of the water.
X-rays taken on Sunday, August 4, showed no obvious evidence of gunshot, trauma or physical injury.
The research team from the Visayas State University College of Veterinary Medicine has yet to release the full autopsy report.
The VSU team believes drowning may have been the cause of Uswage’s death. They estimate that Uswage had been dead four to five days before he was salvaged.
PEF expressed condolences over Uswage’s death and said the eagle had hunted successfully in the wild in the first few days after being released.
“Unfortunately, probably due to the rain and strong winds brought by the southwest monsoon, the eagle Uswag lost its flight direction and was sucked into the sea,” the report said.
Uswag is the ninth Philippine eagle to crash at sea since records began in 1984.
The young eagle was one of two released in Buran, Leyte last June 28. Conservationists hope that Uswag will be able to breed with the released female eagle, Carlito, and reintroduce the species into the province.
Both Uswag and Carlito were rescued in Mindanao. They are the first pair released in Leyte by the PEF and DENR reintroduction project. There have been no reported sightings of the majestic raptors since Super Typhoon Haiyan hit the province in November 2013.
– Rappler.com
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