PH eagles Lakpue, Lyra Sinabadan, Kalatungan taken to Mahagnao, Leyte

Photo: Philippine Eagle Foundation

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) announced on Saturday that it has transferred three eagles from its center in Davao to Mahagnao in Leyte.

According to PEF, the eagles that were moved were Lakpue, Lyra Sinabadan and Kalatungan 1.

The birds came from the National Bird Breeding Sanctuary and the Philippine Eagle Center in Davao.

Their transfer is in line with the foundation’s Philippine Eagle Reintroduction Program’s second year.

“They went through health checks before being placed in their acclimation enclosures in preparation for their eventual release into the wild,” it said in a Facebook post on Saturday.

PEF’s Philippine Eagle Reintroduction Program was launched last year, along with the release of Philippine eagles Carlito and Uswag.

However, PEF disclosed that only Carlito was able to adapt to the Mahagnao landscape.

Uswag “wandered too far from the site” and “drowned near the coast of Baybay in Leyte.”

“To prevent another loss, the Philippine Eagle Foundation adopted the Philippine Eagle Bonding Experiment,” the foundation said.

The experiment is “a strategy to foster social relationships and increase survival among released eagles by helping them to pair up and hunt together, and stay within their habitat,” it noted.

PEF also revealed that Lakpue — a male eagle — will be introduced as a potential mate for Carlito.

Meanwhile, Lyra Sinabadan (female) and Kalatungan 1 (juvenile male) “will form a cohort bond, coexisting harmoniously without mating,” the foundation said.

“But as the former matures, their relationship may evolve into a mating partnership,” it added.