White Beauty Flies to Freedom

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Misamis Oriental, April 27 (PIA) -- A tropical white-tailed bird which was accidentally caught at sea has just been released to its natural habitat and is now free.

The bird, for a short time, was kept at the Regional Wildlife Rescue Center, after it was turned-over, last April 8, to the Protected Areas, Wildlife and Coastal Zone Management Services (PAWCZMS) of the Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), region 10.

The migratory bird had a most interesting fate, when by chance, it came into a collision course with a cargo ship bound for Cagayan de Oro City (CDOC) from Metro Manila, Dr. Belen O. Daba, Officer-in-Charge, Regional Technical Director for DENR’s PAWCZMS, in the region, said.

Called “white beauty,” due to its extra long tail which actually doubles its size in length, it’s a beauty to see when flying, the bird was discovered by porters in the CDOC’s Macabalan Wharf.

It was believed to have accidentally swooped into the ship’s cargo bay as the ship passed along a portion of its route exposed to the China Sea.

The White-tailed Tropicbird (Phaeton lepturus) freely flies across three oceans, namely the Atlantic, Indian and the Pacific and scours the open ocean in search for food, and can even float to rest, tropicbirds also seldom fly near the shore.

Meanwhile, Daba said aside from its many advocacies and responsibilities, it is also tasked by the Philippine government to look after all wildlife, be it from land, sea and air.

Thus, Republic Act 9147 or the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act, prohibits the collection and hunting of threatened wildlife.

Along, this line, PAWCZMS is in charge in rescuing and handling animals who has lost its way, after being caught in mishaps or perhaps illegally kept, Daba added (DENR/PIA-10)