BAGUIO CITY — A weak hawk eagle was rescued by village folk in San Pascual, Tuba, Benguet on Monday and found its temporary sanctuary at the office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resource (DENR)-Cordillera.
The hawk eagle, considered to belong to the endangered species, was personally handed to the environment authorities by Mixed Martial Arts champion Kevin "The Silencer" Belingon.
Senior Ecosystems Management Specialist Linda Claire Pawid of the DENR-Cordillera’s Conservation and Development Division profoundly thanked Belingon, stressing that his noble deed is the MMA fighter's true champion spirit by contributing to the conservation and protection efforts of the wildlife threatened by possible extinction.
The DENR will take care of the eagle until it fully recovers and will later be freed to its natura habitat, said Pawid.
“The wildlife belongs in the wild, let's all contribute to their well-being," Pawid said.
The Philippine hawk-eagle or north Philippine hawk-eagle (Nisaetus philippensis), earlier treated under Spizaetus, is a species of bird of prey in the family Accipitridae.
Many taxonomists consider the Pinsker's hawk eagle, a former subspecies, raised to full species status.
It is endemic to the Philippines. Its natural habitat is tropical moist lowland forests.
Pinkser's hawk eagle is threatened by habitat loss and trapping.