Philippine eagle 'Uswag' found dead in waters off Cebu

A Philippine eagle was found dead in the waters off Ponson Island in Pilar, Cebu, the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) reported Monday.

In a statement, PEF said “Uswag,” male, died of suspected drowning.

On July 31, authorities launched a search and recovery operation after all of the GPS readings for that day indicate that Uswag is at sea.

Three days later, the three-year-old carcass of the Philippine Eagle was found floating on the sea with debris of seagrass and algae.

Veterinarians estimated that Uswag died four to five days before it was retrieved.

“Sadly, perhaps because of the rains and winds brought about by the Southwest monsoon, eagle Uswag lost his flight bearings and got sucked in towards the sea,” PEF said.

Based on the X-ray plate, all of Uswag’s bones were intact and had no signs of fracture or trauma.

Veterinarians said there was no anomaly evident in the bird’s carcass as there were no bullets or air gun pellets found in the X-ray.

“There was no visible evidence of shooting, trauma nor bodily injury and other anomalies,” PEF said.

Released on June 28, Uswag was one of the two Philippine Eagles set free in Leyte under the Species Reintroduction Project by the Department of Environment and PEF.  

PEF noted that it is the ninth documented case of Philippine Eagles crash-landing accidentally at sea, but seven of them were found alive.

The eighth case was found in Maasim, Sarangani Province in 2022. 

The Philippine Eagle is classified as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, with only about 400 pairs remaining in the wild. —NB, GMA Integrated News