PH Eagle pair to fly to SG

The Wildlife Loan Agreement between the Philippines and Singapore allows one live pair of Philippine Eagles to be housed at the Jurong Bird Park in Singapore.

The agreement that was signed on May 20, 2019 at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Central Office in Manila was led by environment secretary Roy A. Cimatu and Dr. Cheng WenHaur, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Life Sciences Officer of the Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) and was witnessed by Dennis Salvador, Executive Director of the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF).

“Sending this pair of Philippine Eagles to Singapore acts as a biosecurity measure to ensure the survival of the species 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 during the signing of the agreement.

The PEF hopes that this loan program, a first for the Philippine Eagle, will start partnerships with other countries and organizations to adopt the species as well. Having other repositories aside from the Philippine Eagle Center in Davao City considerably reduces the risk of the population being decimated completely.

“But this program only represents a small part of a comprehensive population management plan on the species. Given current threats, more intensive actions on protection and law enforcement need to take place in- country,” PEF Executive Director Salvador said.

With no more than an estimated 800 individuals left in the wild and being reported as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the PEF has led the efforts to sustain its number for the past 31 years.

To address the issue of the decreasing population in the wild due to hunting and deforestation, the Philippine Eagle Center, managed by the PEF, was established. It serves as a captive breeding facility as well as a rehabilitation center for injured Philippine Eagles and other wildlife.

To date the PEC has produced 7 Philippine Eagles through Cooperative Artificial Insemination and 21 through the natural breeding method.

The Philippines will be sending two captive bred eagles conceived through the natural breeding method to pioneer the loan program. Apart from being in excellent health, these eagles are considered to be in their breeding prime with female Philippine Eagle “Sambisig” at 17 years old and male eagle Geothermica at 15.

As captive bred eagles and a potential natural pair, Sambisig and Geothmerica are the best candidates for the loan program. Following international protocols, the Philippines is sending captive bred eagles which are more accustomed to human activities and are said to have more resilience in the face of stressful situations, as opposed to those from the wild. The eagles will be transported from the Philippine Eagle Center using large kennels. The pair is scheduled to fly out to Singapore on June 4, 2019.

Geothermica and Sambisig are currently under a pairing attempt process which means they are put inside enclosures with a partition screen in between. This allows them to see each other while preventing any physical harm should they become aggressive. To date, there is no aggression between both birds. They are also observed to perch near each other which indicates a good chance at successful pairing.

Geothermica and Sambisig are adopted by Energy Development Corporation (EDC) and Dow Chemical Philippines, Inc. respectively. These companies have been giving an annual contribution of at least P125,000 for over five years. Geothermica is named after EDC’s core business, geothermal energy while Dow Chemical Philippines, Inc. named its eagle Sambisig meaning “one vision” or “unity.”

Geothermica and Sambisig will be quarantined for some time, upon arrival in Singapore as part of its biosafety protocols and to allow the birds to acclimatize to their new environment. The WRS will be launching their Philippine Eagle Campaign in November.

As one of the leading zoological facilities in the world, the WRS offers a unique platform to educate more people about the ecological and cultural value of the Philippine Eagle that will help in advancing the conservation mission even further.

The WRS will also provide funds to support local conservation of the species. The organization contributes to several conservation efforts through wildlife research and awareness campaigns.