Tuesday, January 15, 2008 Pag-asa marks 16th birthday
PHILIPPINE Eagle Pag-asa celebrates his 16th birthday today. The kuya (older brother) of the Philippine Eagles was the first of its kind to be bred and hatched in captivity at the Philippine Eagle Center (PEC) in Malagos, Baguio District, Davao City.
The dedication and effort invested to eagle conservation eventually paid off with Pag-asa's birth in 1992. His birth came after years of study and research with the great Philippine Eagles at the foothills of Mt. Apo in Baracatan, Toril, Davao City.
Sixteen years since Pag-asa's birth, the Philippine Eagle Foundation's (PEF) efforts to save the Philippine eagles have led to favorable outcomes. As PEF is in constant process of learning effective means of conserving the great Philippine Eagle, it paved the way to success as the center eventually produced its 22nd chick on December 7, 2007.
In line with Pag-asa's birthday celebration, the Foundation also anticipates another experimental release of Kagsabua, a juvenile Philippine Eagle rescued from Brgy. Kaatuan, Lanatapan, Bukidnon.
The eagle was turned over by Felix Mirasol, Pasu-DENR Bukidnon, Daniel Somera deputy Pasu, and company to the PEF retrieval team on September 7, 2006.
Kagsabua had a minor injury -- a bullet wound graze, on its neck area. X-ray result showed an airgun pellet lodged between the skin and the skull at the back of the bird's head. Fortunately, no skull fracture was seen.
"This release is a reintroduction of Kagsabua to the wild," PEF executive director Dennis Salvador noted.
"We hope that hunting and deforestation can be effectively stopped so that the eagles and other species will continue to thrive and benefit future generations," Salvador said.
PEF deputy director for Breeding Conservation Doming Tadeña and Eddie Juntilla, Pag-asa's caretaker, continue to blow the candles of hope from Pag-asa's birthday cake.
The center invites everyone to participate to this momentous event for Pag-asa and the rest of its kind at the PEC.
