DAVAO CITY, Philippines—It was a birthday party a child dreams about: a table groaning with a huge chocolate cake alongside pans of freshly-baked spaghetti and chicken lollipops, gallons of ice cream, and other stuff.
The celebrant was indeed a baby by definition but but not human. It was an eaglet named Mabuhay.
Mabuhay, the 25th eagle bred and hatched in captivity, turned one month old on Saturday.
The offspring of eagles Pag-asa, the first eagle bred in captivity 21 years ago, and 29-year-old Kalinawan, a female eagle rescued in Zamboanga del Norte and turned over to the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) here in 2009, celebrated its birthday, along with several adults and children who were also born February 9.
But Mabuhay did not see eye to eye with its co-celebrants or “hatchmates” as it was kept away from the crowd.
Roli Pinsoy, PEF communications officer, said keeping Mabuhay off the public eye was necessary to prevent the bird from imprinting humans other than its caretaker so that when time comes for it to be released into the wild, it would not look for food in human settlements, which would be dangerous for its survival.
Imprinting is defined as a rapid learning process that takes place early in the life of an animal and establishes a behavior pattern involving recognition of and attraction to identifiable attributes of its own kind or a substitute.
So instead of a “live” celebration with its “hatchmates,” a video clip showing Mabuhay was repeatedly played as stuffed toys were distributed to the guests.
PEF officials said there was more than enough cause to celebrate Mabuhay’s birthday, not just because the bird remains healthy, but also due to the fact that its hatching helped boost the dwindling eagle population.
“From 10-14 grams of ground quail meat, Mabuhay now consumes 70-80 grams of ground quail meat three times a day,” said PEF curator Anna Mae Sumaya.
Sumaya said that in the long run the eaglet would be fed sliced meat.
Mabuhay’s food, other needs, and the birthday party were provided by a donor, whomn the PEF identified only as a “ninang” or “godmother.”
The Philippine eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi) is considered an endangered species because of its rapidly declining population.
About 400 pairs remain in the wild according to estimates from both government and private conservation groups.
Philippine eagles hatch an egg only once every two years, making their conservation an even more daunting task.
“The high mortality rate makes it very difficult to replace one eagle killed in the wild,” one conservationist lamented.
Dennis Salvador, PEF director, said that other threats to the eagle population, aside from their slow breeding habit, include logging and mining activities because these activities continue to put pressure on the country’s remaining forests, the bird’s sanctuary.
Salvador said the call for conservation was even more urgent now, with the country beginning to feel the effects of climate change and global warming.
“Twenty years ago, we were already saying that we have to invest in saving the eagle, saving the forest, because that’s the only way we can save ourselves. If we had only invested in the past, then we won’t have as grave a problem as we have now,” he said.