TIWI, Albay: A Barangay Cale farmer in this town found a distressed juvenile eagle inside the geothermal forest reserve and fed it for six months. On Thursday afternoon, he handed over the healthy Rufous-bellied Eagle to the management of Philippine Geothermal Production Co. Inc. (PGPC) and officials from the Provincial Office of Environment and Natural Resources (Penro) in Albay .

Lorenzo Consulta, 34, a resident of Barangay Cale, said he was feeding his cow in a grassy area of ​​the geothermal field when he saw a bird fall from a tree.

“The bird fell from one of the towering trees, so I picked it up and brought it to our bahay kubo to feed it until the bird was able to fly back to its original habitat. “, he said in his local language.

Lorenzo said he and his wife Gemma, 28, first fed the bird bananas and other fruit, but the bird refused to eat.

“We thought it was just an ordinary bird because it was just a baby with little feathers. But the bird didn’t want to eat bananas. We wondered why the bird didn’t want to eat fruit. Until we decided to give it pork,” says Lorenzo, who named the bird “Duterte.”

“To our surprise, the bird ate the meat. From then on, we bought chicken and pork meat for Duterte’s food. That’s also when my wife and I discovered that the bird is not just an ordinary bird but an eagle locally called ‘colago’.”

Lorenzo and Gemma nurtured Duterte for six months alongside several pets and animals in their care.

Lorenzo said they tried to release the eagle back into the forest, but the bird kept coming back to their house.

The couple still have no children but said they consider their animals – ostriches, ducks, chickens, turkeys, cows, cats and dogs – as their babies, including Duterte.

On Thursday, Lorenzo and Gemma finally handed the eagle over to authorities.

Lorenzo said that while he and his wife Gemma were a bit sad that the eagle was no longer in their care, they were happy that it was back in its original habitat.

PGPC Public Affairs Supervisor Erwin Vargas praised the couple for rescuing and raising the juvenile eagle.

Vargas said the PGPC forest reserve area is home to many endangered animals like wild pigs, monkeys, snakes and other birds, but this is the first time an eagle has been found nesting in geothermal forest reserve.

“The PGPC is very happy to know that the geothermal forest reserve is home to different endangered species, especially an eagle. It indicates that there is an eagle habitat here when Lorenzo, a farmer, was able to save an eagle. is a good sign that our biodiversity is still good and protected,” Vargas said.

The eagle was renamed “Tima”, derived from the habitat of the Tiwi-Malinao Forest Reserve.

Jerry Arena, DENR-Penro Officer in Charge, identified the bird species as the Rufous-bellied Eagle (Lophotriorchis kienerii) based on its physical characteristics. He said that the rufous-bellied eagle is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae found in forest regions of tropical Asia.

The species, according to the official, is considered endangered due to deforestation.

“We will send Tima to Albay Park and Wildlife for further observation, examination and health assessment,” he said.

Albay park management can release him into the forest in time.

Arena said the presence of the eagle in the region is vital for the sustainability of biodiversity.

The eagle has a crucial role to play in controlling the gentle balance of the ecosystem. It helps to naturally regulate the population of species and provide an umbrella of protection for all other life forms within its territory.

“In Albay, biodiversity is still protected due to the presence of PGPC. Unfortunately, there are areas specifically when the Mayon Volcano erupts and biodiversity is destroyed. It is rare for us to discover or save a Philippine eagle. This is the first time a farmer has rescued a juvenile eagle in Albay,” Arena said.

The PGPC covers at least 17,661 hectares of geothermal forest reserve.

PGPC, formerly Philippine Geothermal Inc., generates 106 MW per hour with cumulative gross generations of 57,000 gigawatt hours from 1979 to 2021.

The Tiwi PGPC is Asia’s first geothermal power plant and the Philippines’ largest source of clean, renewable geothermal energy. It provides clean and renewable energy to the country through the Luzon grid with rainforest and secondary forest being preserved ensuring they have water, clean energy and livelihoods .

Tiwi’s business operations began in 1979, ushering in the birth of the geothermal industry in Southeast Asia. It has a contract area of ​​5,087 hectares with 44 active production wells and 27 injection wells.