DAVAO CITY, Philippines — The Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) based here has successfully hatched another eagle, the 26th chick it managed to produce since the start of its breeding program in 1992.
Anna Mae Sumaya, PEF curator, said the eaglet was the result of the natural pairing of male eagle “MVP Eagle” and female bird, “Go Phoenix.”
The chick was the first fertile egg and also the first offspring of the pair since they became partners in 2013. It hatched on December 7 after 56 days of incubation, Sumaya said.
“Assistance in hatching was done during the first few hours of the whole hatching process but the chick did it on its own when it hatched full-term,” Sumaya added.
She said that as of Wednesday, the chick “can already lift its head and get food from forceps.”
“It’s also very active – very attentive and observant of its surroundings. The chick responds to some bird calls heard from the background,” Sumaya said.
“This hatching is a big breakthrough for us and is the result of nearly five years of round robin pairing amongst our younger set of eagles at the center,” said PEF Executive Director Dennis Salvador.
The PEF believes that this success “will rekindle hope for the species and usher a new generation of eagles to strengthen the captive gene pool and augment wild populations,” according to Salvador.
The PEF described the hatching as “our gift to the Filipino people and the rest of the world this Christmas.”
PEF first produced an eagle in captivity through artificial insemination but it was not until 1999 that it managed to produce a bird through natural pairing.
The first captive-bred bird to be released in the wild was Kabayan in 2004 but he died by accidental electrocution in January 2005.
Another eagle, Kagsabua, was killed and eaten by a farmer after being released in March 2008.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature listed the Philippine Eagle as critically endangered with only about 500 birds surviving in the wild. SFM