A Philippine eagle named “Uswag” was discovered dead in the waters off Ponson Island in Pilar, Cebu, the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) reported on Monday.
In a statement, PEF revealed that the male eagle likely died from drowning.
On July 31, authorities initiated a search and recovery operation after GPS readings indicated that Uswag was located at sea.
Three days later, the three-year-old eagle’s carcass was found floating in the sea among seagrass and algae debris.
Veterinarians estimated that Uswag had been dead for four to five days before being retrieved.
“Sadly, perhaps because of the rains and winds brought about by the Southwest monsoon, eagle Uswag lost his flight bearings and got sucked in towards the sea,” PEF stated.
An X-ray examination showed that all of Uswag’s bones were intact, with no signs of fractures or trauma. Veterinarians found no bullets or air gun pellets in the bird’s body.
“There was no visible evidence of shooting, trauma, nor bodily injury and other anomalies,” PEF added.
Uswag was released on June 28 as one of two Philippine Eagles set free in Leyte under the Species Reintroduction Project by the Department of Environment and PEF.
This incident marks the ninth documented case of a Philippine eagle accidentally crash-landing at sea. Of the previous cases, seven eagles were found alive.
The eighth case occurred in Maasim, Sarangani Province in 2022.
The Philippine Eagle is listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, with only about 400 pairs remaining in the wild.