COAST Guard District Southeastern Mindanao (CGDSEM) Substation in Governor Generoso, Davao Oriental intercepted illegal shipments of rare and undocumented different species of birds on November 28, 2024.
The illegal cargo seized along the coast of Barangay Pundaguitan in GovGen was identified to include 27 Mollucan cockatoos, 21 rainbow lorikeets, 26 red lories, and several numbers of Northern and common spotted cuscus.
According to the agency, at least two Indonesian nationals and three Filipinos on board the unregistered motorized bancas were arrested by the Municipal Police Station for violating Republic Act 9147, otherwise known as the Wildlife Protection Act.
The birds were immediately turned over to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Davao Region (DENR-Davao) for further investigation and safekeeping.
Meanwhile, the banca used for transporting the illegal cargo was immediately transported to the Montserrat Fish Port in the same municipality for further investigation.
In taxonomy, the Moluccan cockatoo, or salmon-crested cockatoo (Cacatua moluccensis), is a species of cockatoo that is native to the Seram archipelago in eastern Indonesia.
Meanwhile, the parrot species known as the rainbow lorikeet (Trichoglossus moluccanus) is native to Australia. From southern Australia to northern Queensland, it is widespread along the eastern shore. Its habitat includes woodlands, coastal bushes, and rainforests.
On the other hand, the parrot species known as the red lory (Eos bornea) belongs to the Psittaculidae family. The rainbow lorikeet is the most often kept lory in captivity after the rainbow lorikeet.
Additionally, the Northern common cuscus, also called the gray cuscus, is a species of marsupial in the Phalangeridae family that is native to northern New Guinea and nearby smaller islands. It is thought to have been brought from New Guinea to the Bismarck Archipelago, the Solomons, Timor, and the southeast and central Moluccas in prehistoric times. DEF