‘Amianan’ survives surgery

Doctors removed yesterday a hunter’s caliber .22 slug from the chest of "Amianan," a Philippine eagle rescued last week from the wilds of Isabela.

The 20-minute surgery was performed by six doctors at a private bird farm in Fairview, Quezon City, according to Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB) assistant director Dr. Mun-dita Lim.

Lim said the bureau sought the assistance of Birds International Inc. (BII), a private bird farm owned by aficionado Antonio de Dios, because it has a world class avian hospital.

"Amianan will be confined at the BII for the next two days to allow strict monitoring by PAWB wildlife experts and the facility’s doctors," Lim said.

"But we expect Amianan to recover within the next three days. It will then be brought back to the PAWB Rescue Center at the Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Nature Center also in Quezon City," she added.

The bird hospital, located in Doña Carmen subdivision, has a special gas anesthesia facility. It also specializes in parrot breeding.

Immediately after the operation, Lim told the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) central office in Quezon City that a caliber .22 slug was recovered from the chest of the mature raptor.

For his part, Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Heherson Alvarez ordered an urgent ballistic exam on the bullet to be conducted by police or the National Bureau of Investigation, to determine its projectile and confirm the bullet type, and hopefully trace who shot the eagle.

At present, Lim said that Amianan is being tube-fed with a special vitamin-rich soft diet of calf liver and chicken breast.

German Dr. Friedrich Janeczek, leader of the surgical team, cautioned that the eagle would still have to undergo some tests to check whether there is permanent lead intoxication or poisoning in the bird’s system since the bullet stayed long in Amianan’s chest.

Janeczek is a visiting German veterinarian who offered his expertise for free.

Other members of the surgical team were Dr. Steven Toledo of PAWB, Dr. Rizza Salinas from the DENR Rescue Center, Dr. Russel Celis from the PAWB’s Center for Philippine Raptors in Los Baños, Laguna, Gina Jardinal of BII, Dr. Melodia Nyela Magno, BII resident veterinarian, and Althea Lota, leader of the DENR Philippine Raptor’s Conservation Program.

As for Amianan’s gender, the DENR said they still have to wait until the bird is strong enough to undergo an endoscopy.

The DENR explained that a raptor’s gender could not be determined through its external features such as its feathers and because its sex organ is hidden inside its body, thus, an endoscopy is needed.

However, according to Lota, based on experience, the body of a female eagle is bigger than the male eagle, and Amianan’s body has a female build.

Amianan, which literally means "north" in Ilocano, was found severely wounded in Isabela last Oct. 25.

It was caught in a pig trap by a certain Mr. Wangit in Mt. Susong Dalaga in San Mariano town and was being offered for sale, initial reports said.

But through the assistance of the Philippine Wood Producers Association (PWPA) based in Isabela, the raptor was turned over to the DENR local ffice in Palanan town.

On Oct. 31 Amianan was brought to the DENR-PAWB Rescue Center, even as the PWPA pledged to extend financial support for the rehabilitation and recovery of Amianan.

Alvarez has appealed for public support in protecting the Philippine eagle, otherwise known as the monkey-eating eagle, considered a rare species to be found only in four islands — Luzon, Samar, Leyte and Mindanao.

Scientifically known as Pithecophagajefferyi, the Philippine eagle is the largest raptor or bird of prey in the country and second largest in the world, next only to Central America’s Harpeys eagle.

There are less than 200 eagles in the Philippine wild today, while some 50 eagles are being held in different breeding centers throughout the country.

The DENR said the denudation of the Philippine forest, which is now less than 20 percent of the 14 million hectares around 40 years ago, has greatly contributed to the endangerment of the Philippine eagle.

A pair of mating eagles needs some 40 to 50 square kilometers or more of forest area where it can feed on snakes, monkeys, wild pigs, flying lemurs, squirrels, bats and other wild animals, the DENR said.

"Even as we vow to continue saving the country’s endangered species, we appeal to the public to help government protect our forests and the biodiversity that thrive in it," Alvarez said.

The eagle was declared the country’s national bird by then President Fidel Ramos through Proclamation No. 615.