MANILA — Calls for greater protection of threatened wildlife in the Philippines have intensified following the fatal shooting of a critically endangered Philippine eagle, the national bird, earlier this month.

Wildlife experts said stronger enforcement of the country’s wildlife law is needed to further prevent the persecution of the iconic apex predator. Current estimates indicate only 392 breeding pairs of Philippine eagles (Pithecophaga jefferyi) remain in the wild.

The Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF), a rescue and rehabilitation center, reported the death of the eagle “Mangayon,” named after the village where it was found, on July 8. The case is the first recorded death by gunshot wound by the foundation in the past five years. More recent eagle deaths were mainly due to disease.

The raptor was reportedly found injured by a member of an Indigenous group in the mountains of Davao de Oro province in the southern Philippines. On the same night of its rescue, Mangayon was pronounced dead due to severe blood loss and possibly infection.

Jayson Ibañez, the PEF research and conservation director, noted that Mangayon was at least 3 to 4 years old, and was dehydrated but otherwise healthy. The bones of his left wing, however, were shattered, presumably by a marble, commonly used as a projectile in improvised guns in the country.

“A marble will not penetrate the body, but it will shatter the immediate surface,” Ibañez told Mongabay in a phone interview. “It must have been a very painful experience for the bird.”

The raptor, which was not yet at breeding age, was not previously tagged, Ibañez said. It was the first formal record of a Philippine eagle in Davao de Oro, he added.

“Mangayon was shot and killed in an unprotected area,” he said. “We’re slowly finding evidence that immature birds are most vulnerable because they are no longer within protected territory.”

Immature birds are those that are not yet sexually mature but often leave their parents’ territory to identify and establish their own, a search that often seen them venturing outside protected areas. Philippine eagles are considered key markers of healthy forest ecosystems, since each breeding pair needs at least 7,000 hectares (17,300 acres) of forest to survive. To date, the endemic raptor can only be found in four of the country’s 7,641 islands, mostly in Mindanao, where Davao de Oro is located.

The PEF reported that 20 Philippine eagles have been rescued since 2019, at a rate of five birds each year. An analysis of the data provided by the foundation showed that 11 were victims of shooting, mostly with air guns. These eagles were found alive with air gun pellets still embedded in their bodies. Others were shot down using makeshift marble guns or captured using animal traps.

Mangayon was the fourth eagle PEF found shot in 2024, including one bird that had been blinded in one eye.

Air guns are commonly used for hunting wildlife in the Philippines. Although often marketed as toys, they need to be registered with the local police. Marble guns, however, are largely unregulated since they’re often built and assembled at home.

As top predators with small population numbers, the death of even one eagle could jeopardize the survival of the species, Ibañez said. “If more immature birds are dying, there are no young individuals to replace the adult birds that are dying,” he said, suggesting a potential population collapse.

Despite a wildlife law signed in 2001 that prohibits the harming, hunting or killing of wildlife, Ibañez said there’s still a lack of understanding and education on wildlife conservation.

A proposal currently before the Senate calls for amending the wildlife law and toughening penalties for wildlife crime, including up to 12 years in jail and fines of up to 2 million pesos ($34,200) or double the proven market value of the species, whichever is higher, for killing critically endangered wildlife. Under the current law, those same violations are punishable by the same maximum jail term but fines of only 1 million pesos ($17,100) at most.

Initially filed in 2021, the amendments remain stalled in Congress. Anson Tagtag, head of wildlife resources at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Biodiversity Management Bureau (DENR-BMB), said his office is once again in consultation with legislators, who raised concerns about certain provisions on the regulation of flora. He emphasized, however, that the senators were supportive of harsher penalties concerning fauna.

Tagtag said the DENR-BMB had also recently met with the Philippine National Police to discuss the regulation of improvised guns. “We requested them to include a campaign against homemade guns since they are being used to kill Philippine eagles and other wildlife,” he told Mongabay by phone.

As more birds fall prey to hunting, Ibañez called for more resources dedicated to protecting the Philippine eagle, including education campaigns, community engagement with Indigenous peoples, and training of forest guards. The PEF, he said, is also pushing for new policies focused solely on the country’s national bird.

“Stiffer penalties can help deter, but these need to be accompanied by enhanced motivation and resources to enforce,” Ibañez said. “There should also be certainty in catching perpetrators and swift verdicts.”

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