The eagles have landed: Singapore shows off rare Philippine raptors

NOVEMBER 27, 2019

A male Philippine eagle named Geothermica is one of a pair being cared for in Singapore, part of a breeding programme to reverse the dwindling numbers of the feathered giants

Singapore showed off two critically-endangered eagles Wednesday that were loaned from the Philippines as part of a breeding programme to reverse the dwindling numbers of the feathered giants.

Destruction of tropical rainforest and relentless hunting have decimated the population of the Philippine Eagle—one of the world's biggest and most powerful birds whose wingspan can reach 2 metres (7 feet)—with only around 800 believed left in the wild, conservationists say.

The birds, Geothermica and Sambisig, are the first breeding pair ever to be sent outside the Philippines and arrived in Singapore in June on a 10-year loan from Manila.

The creatures are being cared for at the city-state's main aviary and were shown to the media Wednesday, as part of events marking 50 years of diplomatic relations between the countries.

"Any future offspring of the eagles will be returned to the Philippines to contribute to the sustainability of the species' population," said Wildlife Reserves Singapore, which runs the aviary.

The scheme has echoes of China's "panda diplomacy", which sees the Asian giant send the black and white bears to countries as gifts.

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Singapore’s Jurong Bird Park to house Philippine Eagle pair

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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How do you save the Philippine eagles? First, empower the communities

The Philippine Eagle Foundation receives this year's Eduardo Aboitiz Award for Outstanding Institution for its collaboration with indigenous peoples in saving the endangered national bird

Mara Cepeda

Published 10:00 AM, October 01, 2018

MANILA, Philippines – Protecting the mighty Philippine eagle is no easy feat, but a decades-old foundation based in Davao City has been on a mission to provide sanctuaries for the critically-endangered national bird.

The Philippine Eagle Foundation has turned an 8.4-hectare lush forest at the foothills of Mt Apo into a sanctuary for the Philippine eagles as well as other birds, mammals, and reptiles.

The Philippine Eagle Center is a conservation breeding facility that also serves as a crucial tourist destination for Davao City, where thousands of guests learn about the conservation of the environment.

Outside of its breeding facility, the foundation also works hand-in-hand with 37 communities in the region in protecting Philippine eagles that live out in the wild. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature has listed the Philippine eagle as critically endangered, with only around 400 pairs remaining in the wild.

For these initiatives, the foundation was given the prestigious Eduardo Aboitiz Award for Outstanding Institution this year.

The success behind the Philippine Eagle Foundation’s efforts all these years may be perhaps due to its culture-based approach in conservation.

Jason Ibañez, Philippine Eagle Foundation director for research and conservation, told Rappler that they are focused on working directly with indigenous peoples (IPs), who become forest guards for the eagles.

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Documentary highlights effort to save Philippine eagle

April 10, 2018

Energy, Environment & Sustainability

The Philippine eagle is a large, powerful raptor but it may not be large or powerful enough to withstand buzzing chainsaws that are erasing the old-growth forests it needs to survive. There are fewer than 800 of these birds remaining in the Philippines.

A new documentary, “Bird of Prey,” is bringing the story of their conservation to audiences around the world as well as in the Philippines, spotlighting the efforts of a small but determined group of people trying to save the eagle. The film is being screened in Ithaca for the first time as part of the Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival Sunday, April 15, at 4 p.m. at Cinemapolis in Ithaca.

“Bird of Prey” is the work of cinematographer Neil Rettig in partnership with the Multimedia Productions group at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Filipino conservationists. The film's vivid imagery takes viewers right into the eagle’s nest 100 feet aloft or soaring through the remote mountain patches of forest where the eagle still survives.

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Philippine Eagle nest found in Apayao, thanks to IP habitat conservation scheme

ByContributoron July 14 2015 11:48 pm

Jayson C. Ibañez

Director-Research and Conservation

Philippine Eagle Foundation

In July of 1896, a local Samareño acting as guide to British Ornithologist John Whitehead brought back to camp one of the largest forest birds that Whitehead has ever seen. Then a new species to the western world, this first Philippine eagle specimen from Samar was a jewel among Whitehead’s wildlife collections. It was then one of the world’s greatest discoveries for a biological expedition.

One hundred nineteen years later today, we celebrate the same spirit of scientific discovery to announce another first in the history of Philippine Eagle research and conservation – the discovery of the world’s first active Philippine Eagle nest on Luzon Island.

On April 24, 2015, the first Philippine Eagle nest on Luzon with a downy chick was finally located by Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) biologists andIsnagresearch assistants in the lush lowland forests of Apayao Province in the Cordillera Administrative Region of Luzon.

The nest search was everything except easy. Finding the elusive nest involved a total of 3,456 hours of observations, which is equivalent to watching television 24/7 for over three months straight. Field work spanned five years in rugged and remote jungles. In the field, observers spent time mostly on platforms atop trees, scanning ridges and valleys for the highly secretive national bird.

The tedious nest search tested the team’s skills, patience and determination said PEF Biologist and expedition team leader Tatiana Abaño. “In the thick lowland jungles of Apayao, finding an eagle nest is like searching for a needle in a pile of hay”, Abaño added.

Read on ...

Endangered Philippine eagle killed by falling branch

MANILA, Philippines—A rare Philippine eagle, whose species is on the brink of extinction, was killed inside a conservation group’s breeding center when a branch fell on its cage, the center said Saturday.

The 15-year-old male bird, named ‘Arakan’, was one of about 250 adult Philippine eagles remaining according to the Swiss-based International Union for the Conservation of Nature, which lists the species as “critically endangered”.

Days of non-stop rain caused the huge branch of a tree to fall on Arakan’s cage at the Philippine Eagle Foundation’s center in the southern island of Mindanao, crushing the raptor on January 18, the foundation said.

Numerous large trees are planted inside the center because the conservation group is “trying to simulate the natural environment of the eagles,” said the foundation’s communications officer Beauxy Auxtero.

Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/569145/endangered-philippine-eagle-killed-by-falling-branch#ixzz2rY2XJPC0