Eaglet's birthday a small victory in effort to conserve Philippine Eagle

Exactly a month after the first offspring of “Pag-asa,” the first Philippine eagle hatched and bred in captivity, came into this world, the Philippine Eagle Center (PEF) celebrated its one-month birthday last Saturday in Barangay Malagos, Calinan district in Davao City. To commemorate the occasion, the center invited those who were born on February 9 to join the celebration., At least three people came: Menchie dela Cruz (birth year: 1977), Leonora Calimbo (1979), and Marilou Natad (1985). “Besides this being a celebration of Mabuhay’s life, it is also a celebration of PEF’s hard work and selfless dedication for the survival of the Philippine eagles and its conservation efforts. I hope our nation can unite to love and support our country’s wonderful endemic resources,” said an anonymous donor in a text message.

One-month old Philippine Eagle Mabuhay gets to celebrate its birthday with a cake. Photo by Henrylito D. Tacio

The donor, who shoulders the eaglet’s yearly food, veterinary needs, maintenance, and other expenses, was given the honor naming the eaglet. “Whoever adopts an eagle is given the privilege to give it a name,” says Jayson Ybanes, the PEF’s research director. “Mabuhay” was chosen, which in Tagalog means “welcome,” “to live,” “live well” or simply “long live.” Dennis Salvador, PEF executive director, said the benefactor pledged P168,888.88, which was more than the P150,000 required for sponsoring an eagle. The amount could be brought down to P125,000 a year if the adoption would be for five consecutive years. Mabuhay’s “ninang,” who described herself as an ordinary employee, pledged to adopt the eaglet as long as it lived. The gender of Mabuhay will be determined when it turns a year old through morphometric (measurements of parts) process as the PEF does not have the facility to immediately determine its sex. Would rather kill each Salvador explained that the PEF decided to celebrate Mabuhay’s one-month birthday because “these births really do help focus and bring attention to the plight of the endangered species. “It’s too bad we cannot keep up with losses in the wild. Too many young eagles are dying before they reach adulthood and aging populations are probably not being replaced. If this persists, the entire population could suddenly crash,” Salvador warned. Mabuhay is the 25th captive-bred Philippine eagle produced by PEF, which embarked on the captive breeding project back in the 1980s. Their efforts bore fruit in January 1992 with the birth of Pag-asa. Mabuhay was a product of artificial insemination between Pag-asa and the 29-year old female eagle Kalinawan, which was rescued in Zamboanga del Norte and turned over to the eagle center in 2009. In the past, many pioneering efforts to breed certain endangered species in captivity failed. According to Salvador, breeders of captive eagles and other birds find it a Herculean task to induce captive birds to reproduce. Many factors like food, protection and nesting needs have to be considered. Breeders at the eagle center were left with no other option but to employ artificial insemination. They had to catch the semen from a male eagle and inject it into the female eagle. Salvador cites five reasons why they resorted to the artificial insemination method: (1) while the male gets into all stages of the breeding cycle, he still fails to copulate; (2) most eagles at the center are already “sexually imprinted” on humans, meaning the, eagle has already accepted a human as its sexual partner; (3) there is shortage of unrelated sexually mature male, eagles; (4) crippled or disabled eagles cannot have natural sex; and (5) some pairs of eagles of opposite sexes would rather kill one another than have sex. Fewer than 1,000 The Philippine Eagle is listed by the International Union of Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources as among the country’s threatened birds. In July 1995, then President Fidel V. Ramos signed Proclamation No. 615 naming the Philippine Eagle as the country’s national bird. Ramos said that the bird is found only in the Philippines and as such it should be a source of national pride. If the national bird dies, the former president said, “so will all the country’s efforts at conserving its natural resources and treasures.”

The eaglet “Mabuhay” was a product of artificial insemination between Pag-asa and the 29-year old female eagle Kalinawan, which was rescued in Zamboanga del Norte. Photo from PEF

There are currently fewer than 1,000 Philippine eagles all over the country. Most of the eagles in the wild are found in the forests of Mindanao and Samar in the Visayas. The eagle center is home to 37 eagles, most of whome have been adopted. Only eight eagles remain "orphans." “While we celebrate the birth of Mabuhay, we are still worried about the fate of the Philippine eagles in the wild. We breed Philippine eagles to replace population losses in the wild but we are uncertain of their safety once they are released. They are constantly under threat of human persecution,” Salvador pointed out. — DVM, GMA News