TACLOBAN CITY - A juvenile Philippine eagle-owl (Bubo philippensis) was recently released back to the wild in a forested area in Sitio Sabang, Barangay Caluwayan, Marabut, Samar.
The Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) of Sta. Rita, Samar, facilitated the release of the Philippine eagle-owl.
Forester Glenn Garciano said it was captured by a local in Barangay Osmeña in Marabut town last December, and was turned over to DENR on January 12.
The Philippine eagle-owl is considered to be an endangered species due to decline of lowland forest based on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List Category and Criteria 2016 and the Updated National List of Threatened Philippine Fauna and their Categories (Department Administrative Order No. 2019-09 dated July 12, 2019).
This species helps balance the ecosystem by controlling the number of insects and pests in the forests and most especially in agricultural areas.
It is an endemic species in the Philippines commonly found in the forests of Luzon, Catanduanes, Samar, Leyte, Bohol, Mindanao, and possibly Sibuyan and is one of the largest owls in the world.