COTABATO CITY, Philippines - “Exhilarating. An experience something money can never quantify, something that can happen only once in a lifetime.â€
This was how photojournalist Samuel Amatong described his and his camera's encounter with a pair of Philippine Eagles above a tropical rainforest in Baliguian town in Zamboanga del Norte.
Villagers have been seeing for more than three months now, the eagles gracefully hovering everyday above the canopy of the thick rainforest in Barangay Linay searching for prey.
The reclusive Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga Jefferyi) has long been listed as among the world’s most critically endangered species.
Amatong and another photojournalist, Rhey Davie Magdayao, an employee of the local government of Dipolog City, were members of a team of government wildlife experts dispatched last week to investigate persistent reports about sightings of the eagles in Barangay Linay.
The fact-finding team was jointly led by Almario Kaabay Jr. of the Regional Eagle Watch Team of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Region 9, and Liza Jane Estaño of the Zamboanga del Norte Provincial Environment Management Office.
Kaabay and Estaño had both confirmed to Zamboanga del Norte Gov. Roberto Uy the presence of the eagles in Barangay Linay, based on photos and initial recordings of their flight paths and movement from one treetop to another.
Residents of Barangay Linay want the forests in their surroundings immediately declared as protected forest reservation, off limits from wildlife poachers and loggers.
Amatong, who is an employee of the Zamboanga del Norte provincial engineer’s office, said they even saw the eagles do graceful episodes of “courtship flights,†wings fully extended, indicating the birds are of opposite sex.
“There is a possibility too that they have a nest on one of the tall trees in the forest,†Amatong said.
The validation process initiated by the team jointly led by Kaabay and Estaño was prompted by clamors by local folks for government to help sustain the presence of the eagles in Barangay Linay.
The team had to travel overland for five hours from Dipolog City, seat of the provincial government, to reach the town proper of Baliguian.
Amatong said from Baliguian, they hiked on rugged terrains for three hours to reach Barangay Linay to talk to villagers and observe the eagles for three days in the dense jungles in the area.
“It was worth the sacrifice. It was a once in a lifetime experience. Lucky us,†Amatong said.
Kaabay and Estaño both said they are grateful to the governor of Zamboanga del Norte for supporting their fact-finding mission, whose official findings, on paper, will soon be out.