British birdwatchers in the Philippines found themselves in the midst of a gun fight in their quest to spot a rare eagle. Harriet Alexander talks to a series of "twitchers" about what drives them to seek out unusual birds in extreme environments ...
Paul Rendell didn’t hink he was in trouble.
High up in the mountains, in a remote, lushly-forested corner of the
Philippines, the pensioner from Dorset had envisaged a peaceful day amid
spectacular scenery.
Then the bullets started whistling around him.
“We all dived to the ground,” Mr Rendell said. “Our guide Carlitos was
shot immediately – his arm shattered. There was an awful lot of blood,
so I had to tie a tourniquet. Then we had to run as fast as we could,
doubled up across the fields.”
The
66-year-old from Weymouth had travelled with his wife Jill on a mission
to spot the critically-endangered Philippine Eagle – the largest and
rarest eagle in the world.
But up on
the thickly-forested mountainside, two hours trek from their remote
jungle lodge, Mr and Mrs Rendell found themselves face to face not with
the Philippines’ national bird but with their army, in the midst of a
shoot out with Communist rebels.
“It was hard to tell how long it went on for,” he said.
“There was a lull in the firing, and then a bang. Someone in our group said they were firing mortars. But we didn’t hang about – we just ran for it.”
The group of six tourists – Mr and Mrs Rendell, three Danes and an Australian – tried, with their Philippines-based British guide Peter Simpson, to help their local guide down to safety. Carlitos Gayramara, 61, was an extremely experienced wildlife expert but his injuries were severe and he was going into shock.
“It was so hot carrying him down the mountain – my wife nearly collapsed,” said Mr Rendell. Fortunately a local boy on a horse rode into sight, and they hoisted Mr Gayramara onto the saddle and he was taken away to safety.
The rest carried on down into the nearest town – walking more than seven miles in the intense, humid heat by midday.
“I wouldn’t really want to go through that again,” said Mr Rendell. They never did see the Philippine Eagle.
“It was hard to tell how long it went on for,” he said.
“There was a lull in the firing, and then a bang. Someone in our group said they were firing mortars. But we didn’t hang about – we just ran for it.”
The group of six tourists – Mr and Mrs Rendell, three Danes and an Australian – tried, with their Philippines-based British guide Peter Simpson, to help their local guide down to safety. Carlitos Gayramara, 61, was an extremely experienced wildlife expert but his injuries were severe and he was going into shock.
“It was so hot carrying him down the mountain – my wife nearly collapsed,” said Mr Rendell. Fortunately a local boy on a horse rode into sight, and they hoisted Mr Gayramara onto the saddle and he was taken away to safety.
The rest carried on down into the nearest town – walking more than seven miles in the intense, humid heat by midday.
“I wouldn’t really want to go through that again,” said Mr Rendell. They never did see the Philippine Eagle.
Napomena: komentar može objaviti samo član ovog bloga.