A sunbeam snake that is known for its shimmering scales was among the many wild animals that were rescued and handed over to the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff (PCSDS) this month, from December 10-24.
The PCSDS said in a post that the sunbeam snake (Xenopeltis unicolor) was rescued from the Lio Estate Resort by Ten Knots Philippines, Inc. staff Jason Amascual on December 9. It was turned over to the personnel of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Protected Area Management Office (DENR-PAMO) to the PCSDS-Wildlife Trafficking Monitoring (WTMO) Sub Office-El Nido on December 10, 2021.
It measured 90 centimeters in length and was in good health when it was released back to its natural habitat on the same day it was handed over to the WTMO.
On December 12, resident Butch Solano of Sitio Dumarogdog, Barangay Sowangan in Quezon, turned over to the PCSDS-Wildlife Enforcement Team an oriental small-clawed otter (Aonyx cinerea), locally known as “dungon”.
Solano informed that they rescued the endangered species when it entered his home in the afternoon of December 11 before turning it over to the enforcement team of the PCSDS in the area.
The oriental small-clawed otter is listed as an endangered species under the PCSD Resolution No. 15-521.
On December 13, the PCSDS received a rufous night-heron (Nycticorax caledonicus) from Rosemarie Roque of Barangay San Jose. The bird was apparently saved after falling off their roof.
Roque informed PCSDS that they first intended to care for the bird but opted against it due to their lack of knowledge on how to do it.
Rufous night-heron. (Photo from PCSDS)
“After rescuing the bird, she tried to release the species but it could not fly,” the PCSDS said.
A crested goshawk (Accipiter trivirgatus) was turned over also on December 17 by Resty Carillo, staff of Acacia Garden Inn, to the PCSDS-District Management Division (DMD)-Calamian in Coron municipality.
Carillo told the wildlife rescue authorities that the strong wind might have blown it away until it landed inside the premises of their establishment.
“He captured it and handed it over to the DMD-Calamian Coron Office on the same day,” the PCSDS said. It was released on the same day. The bird measures 42 centimeters in length and weighs 2 kilograms.
A Southeast Asian box turtle (Cuora amboinensis) was handed over too on December 18 to the PCSDS from Barangay San Miguel, Puerto Princesa City, by Philippine Air Force (PAF) enlisted personnel Kevin Barrion.
Southeast Asian box turtle. (Photo from the PCSDS)
However, due to ongoing emergency response efforts in the aftermath of Typhoon Odette, he was unable to bring the turtle to PCSDS until December 24.
It has a curved carapace length of 16.51 cm and curved carapace width of 12.7 cm. The Southeast Asian box turtle is listed as an endangered species under PCSD Resolution 15-521S.
The PCSDS is enccouraging residents who come across or rescue wildlife to call its office at 0935-116-2336 (Globe/TM) or 0948-937-2200 (Smart/TNT).
