DAVAO CITY, Philippines — To his fellow tribal members, Datu Julito Ahao is jokingly called matanglawin, which literally means “having an eye of an eagle.” Aptly so. Under the watch of the 64-year-old chieftain, more than a dozen critically endangered Philippine eagles, the country’s national bird, have hatched and survived in the wild since the mid-1980s. He was in his 20s when he first encountered a pair of Philippine eagles (Pithecophaga jefferyi) within Mount Apo Natural Park on the island of Mindanao, home to his people, the Obu Manuvu, and the Philippines’ highest peak. “It was fascinating to see the majestic bird,” he tells Mongabay at his home in the remote village of Salaysay. The blue-and-gray-eyed bird can grow to almost 1 meter (3 feet) in height, with an impressive wingspan of 2 m (nearly 7 ft). It was a love-at-first sight affair for the raptors, Ahao says, one that continues today. The skinny elder wears many hats. He earns a living planting corn and vegetables, but continues to regularly scour the forests for eagle nests and protect them from logging and hunting. He founded a group of forest guards, known as Bantay Bukid, to protect the species’ diminishing habitat. And as a pastor, he preaches biblical verses about the protection of living beings to push his advocacy. To conservationists, he’s an “unsung hero.” Although he reached only Grade 1 school level, Ahao can read and also uses the bible to push his advocacy. Image by Bong S. Sarmiento. There…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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