2 threatened owls escape cooking pot

SANTIAGO CITY, Philippines – Two endangered owls were rescued in Quirino province last weekend, according to the San Isidro community environment and natural resources office here.

Officer Pablo de la Cruz said the owls were turned over to the regional office of broadcaster ABS-CBN here.

“It’s fortunate that the finders thought of turning over the birds instead of selling or having them for food, which is the common practice,” said De la Cruz.

Farmers Elmer Pacio and Roseller Domingo found the owls wandering in a sprawling field, apparently weak.

Instead of selling or eating the owls, Pacio and Domingo gave them to a school utility worker who in turn handed them over to the ABS-CBN office here.

“It’s possible that the birds’ habitat was already running out of food, prompting them to scout for other feeding areas,” De la Cruz said.

Owls, which hunt small mammals, insects, and other birds (some specialize in hunting fish), belong to the order of birds of prey, comprising 200 species. The bird species, mostly solitary and nocturnal, is found in practically all regions of the earth except Antarctica and some remote islands.

A number of endangered species of birds including the Philippine eagle have been rescued in different parts of the northern Sierra Madre.

Environmentalists believe that endangered animal and flora species have been displaced or threatened due to illegal logging, kaingin or slash and burn farming, forest burning, hunting and other environmentally destructive activities.