by Marje
Pelayo | Posted on Monday, May 20th, 2019
MANILA,
Philippines – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) signed
on Monday (May 20) a memorandum of agreement with the Wildlife Reserves
Singapore (WRS) for the loan of a pair of Philippine eagles.
The eagle
pair, named “Geothermica” and “Sambisig”, will stay in Singapore’s Jurong Bird
Park in the next 10 years for conservation and breeding of this
critically-endangered bird species whose population at present counts to only
less than 400 pairs.
According
to Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu, the eagle pair will serve as ambassadors
for Philippine biodiversity.
“Sending
Geothermica and Sambisig to Singapore acts as a biosecurity measure to ensure
the survival of the species and as a fallback population in the event of
catastrophic events like disease outbreaks or extreme natural calamities taking
place in their Philippine habitats,” Cimatu said.
Jurong
Bird Park is the largest bird park in Asia.
It houses
close to 3,500 birds across 400 species, of which 20 percent is threatened.
The
signing of the loan agreement was witnessed by Singapore Ambassador to the
Philippines Gerard Ho Wei Hong and Philippine Ambassador to Singapore Joseph
del Mar Yap. – Marje Pelayo
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