MANILA, Philippines - A wounded Philippine Hawk Eagle rescued by Army troops in Samar has been turned over to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
The soldiers named the bird “Murayaw,†a Waray word that means peace.
Soldiers from the Army’s 87th Infantry Battalion recovered the eagle while conducting relief operations in the hinterlands of Pinabacdao-Sta. Rita in Samar following the onslaught of Super Typhoon Yolanda in November last year.
Capt. Amado Gutierrez, spokesman for the 8th Infantry Division, said the soldiers nursed the eagle’s wounds for four months until the bird regained its strength.
The eagle was estimated to be five months old when found by troopers.
Maj. Gen. Jet Velarmino, 8th Infantry Division commander, and 87th Infantry Battalion commander Lt. Col. Antonio Dulnuan turned the bird over to Danilo Javier, regional director of the DENR, on April 15 in Tacloban City.
Dulnuan said Murayaw will eventually be released in the wild where it belongs.
“While our primary mandate is to protect the people from threat groups, we are aware of the national government’s environmental conservation programs,†Velarmino said. – With Ricky Bautista