THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has placed under rehabilitation four wildlife species in preparation for their eventual release back into the wild.
Placed under rehabilitation at the Regional Wildlife Rescue Center in Baclay, Tukuran, Zamboanga del Sur are two Giant Scops Owls and two Asian Palm Civets.
Rosevirico Tan, DENR regional information officer, said the Giant Scops Owls and Asian Palm Civets were voluntarily turned over by Maximo Octao, 66, of Poblacion village, Sominot, Zamboanga del Norte on Wednesday, January 6.
Tan said the wildlife species were retrieved by personnel of the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro) of Ramon Magsaysay, Zamboanga del Sur.
Tan said a physical examination on the wildlife species showed that they are in good condition with no external wounds.
Scops owls feed on insects and are not recommended as pets because they are not easy to feed. They have an excellent sense of hearing, which helps them locate their prey and their well-developed raptorial claws and a curved bill facilitate tearing their prey into pieces that are small enough to swallow.
On the other hand, the Asian Palm Civet is an omnivore feeding foremost on fruits such as berries and pulpy fruits. Thus, it helps to maintain tropical forest ecosystems via seed dispersal.
Since 2008, Asian Palm Civet is red-listed under the International Union for the Conservation of Nature as least concern as it accommodates a broad range of habitats while the Giant Scops Owl is listed as vulnerable.
Meanwhile, Tan said the Cenro-Ramon Magsaysay discussed Republic Act 9147 also known as the "Wildlife Resource Conservation and Protection Act" to the rescuer and nearby residents in Poblacion, Sominot, emphasizing that keeping wildlife without a proper facility and care is illegal. (SunStar Zamboanga)