Philippine eagle Uswag found dead

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) pledged to continue investigating and exploring systematic geographic information system mapping and modeling of topography, wind patterns, and other climate parameters after the eagle Uswag crashed and drowned off the coast of Baybay City in Leyte on July 30.

«Doing so can allow us to predict which areas within Leyte and other future release sites, as well as in suitable Philippine eagle habitats across the country, have the highest risk of crashes,» the foundation said in an incident report on Monday.

«This, in turn, has very important management and conservation implications, particularly in this era where global climate change can exacerbate mortality rates among wild Philippine eagles, which can further drive them to extinction,» it added.

Uswag's carcass was discovered in the waters of Pilar, Cebu, on Saturday, August 3, following 42 hours of search and recovery efforts.

Uswag, a three-year-old male eagle, was released at Marabong Watershed in Burauen, Leyte, on June 28, 2024, together with the female eagle Carlito.

They were the first eagles released in Leyte as part of the Species Reintroduction Program of the PEF.

In July, the PEF reported that a Philippine eagle named Magayon was shot in Davao de Oro and died of severe blood loss.

Uswag was the ninth eagle to have crashed at sea.

However, he was the first reintroduced wild eagle and the first with a tracking device to crash at sea. The remaining eagles were untagged, but seven were rescued by fishermen.