Scientists find Philippine eagle three months after release

A Philippine Eagle that was rescued from Mindanao and released into the wild more than three months ago has been found "feeding well and healthy" in Leyte, according to a report posted by the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF).

A team from the PEF, which was led by Senior Biologist Rowell "Ron" Taraya, with Field Biologist Japheth Richa, and Field Technicians Rene Bacquiano and Christian Tan found the eagle named "Carlito."

Details of the search and discovery are provided in the first post-release documentation of the Philippine Eagle, a critically endangered specie endemic in the Philippines.

The search, which was based on regular GPS readings from the solar-powered transmitter installed on the back of the bird that showed that the bird was in McArthur, Leyte.

Carlito and Uswag

There were two Philippine eagles that were rescued in Mindanao and released in Leyte and these were Carlito and Uswag.

Uswag, however, was found dead off Camotes Islands in Cebu province last July 2024.

"A necropsy revealed that Uswag died of drowning," the team reported.

"The team suspected that a series of thermal updrafts brought Uswag closer to the shore line, and the gradual loss of these columns of hot air towards the sea and the inability of Philippine eagles to sustain power, flapping flights in the absence of thermal updrafts resulted to the bird crashing at sea," the team said.

Finding Carlito

Searching for Carlito proved to be a diffcult task for the team because although the tracking device showed the bird was nearby, "the eagle was very shy and secretive."

The PEF team coordinated with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Region 8, the Provincial and Community Offices of the DENR, the Barangay Local Government Units (BLGUs) and forest guards from Barangay Kagbana in Burauen town.

Based on Google Maps, the team said, Carlito has been staying within the forests of McArthur, Leyte within the deep gorges and ravines of a river locally called “Valerie” since August, 2024.

The group found the bird flying above the riparian forest until finally landing on a dead branch and with closer inspection has been confirmed as the rare Philippine Eagle, Carlito.

Healthy, thriving in the wild

Carlito, the team reported, showed behaviors which suggest that she was feeding well and healthy in the wild forests of Leyte.

"The team observed her engaging in general maintenance behaviors such as preening (grooming her feathers), rousing (raising her feathers away from her body, shaking her body vigorously and then re-arranging its feathers), sunbathing (intentionally staying under the sun), and, most importantly, defecating or pooping. Pooping suggest that she just had a meal. She also raised her crest or head feathers while looking intently at some portions of the forests. All of these are clear signs that she had been hunting successfully over the past three months." — BAP, GMA Integrated News