Some bad news really hit you at your core. That's how I felt when news of Pamana, the three-year-old Philippine Eagle nursed back to health after being found weak because of a gunshot wound, was found dead within the vicinity of the area where it was released in Davao Oriental only a few months ago. For the second time, this majestic bird suffered at the hands of an imbecilic human with no respect for creatures other than himself. This time, Pamana just could not survive another gunshot. It was no match for an inferior human.
What exactly is the purpose of shooting an animal that isn't doing anyone any harm? Fun? Sport? Bragging rights? Definitely not food. Pamana was more than just another endangered animal, supposed to be enjoying the protection of the Wildlife Conservation and Protection Act. The eagle was practically family for many, who painstakingly nursed it back to health, enough to set it free.
The Philippine Eagle was declared the national bird in 1995. It is also critically endangered, with only around four hundred adult pairs remaining. But all these mean nothing to the idiot human who found pleasure shooting another eagle. At present, a reward has been put up for any information on the shooter, who if found guilty may be imprisoned anywhere from six to twelve years in prison, and fined between P100,000 and a million pesos. The locals definitely know who the shooter is. If the reward is increased considerably, I'm sure human nature will take over and they will give him up.
Reaction was swift and brutal, with both grief and anger vented on the senseless killing of Pamana. The Philippine Eagle Foundation has condemned in the strongest possible terms the killing of Pamana, and call for more active enforcement of wildlife protection, and not just another law on paper. It really depends how involved government is on conservation, as funds are needed to fully enforce wildlife protection on the ground. Education and awareness is useless on a person with no brains, such as the shooter of Pamana and others like him, just waiting for another opportunity to kill another eagle.
Between China's insatiable appetite of killing endangered animals for a myriad of purposes, to locals shooting Philippine eagles for no reason at all, is it any wonder why so many other species of animals are no longer around? Animals that play an important part in the balance of nature, which has been skewed in the past years. Pamana is not the first Philippine eagle to be killed, and unfortunately, it may not be the last. Let us hope that there is enough uproar to finally give the protection this animal deserves.