Python adding threats to endangered Philippine eagle

by Antonio Colina IV, Manila Bulletin

DAVAO CITY – Animal keepers at the Philippine Eagle Center have set up traps to catch a reticulated python that’s preying on animals inside their enclosure in Barangay Malagos, Baguio District in Davao City.

Espoir at three months (Photo courtesy of Philippine Eagle Foundation)

This is after a juvenile Philippine eagle named ‘Espoir’ was found dead inside its enclosure at around 12:13 a.m. last April 5. Espoir, a French word for “Hope,” was an offspring of eagle parents Ariela and MVP Matatag.

Last month, a Philippine subsidiary of global animal health company, Ceva Santé Animale, adopted the chick. The Philippine Eagle Foundation and Ceva signed a Memorandum of Agreement on the adoption of Espoir where the company pledged to provide an annual support of P200,000 to cover the eaglet’s food, keeper care, veterinary care, and shelter maintenance.

 

The foundation said the animal keepers immediately took measures to capture the snake, a species classified as a hazard under the center’s biosecurity measures. Consequently, pythons are adding threats to the Philippine eagle which is listed as critically endangered owing to loss of habitat.

“Reticulated pythons are natural resident species inside the Philippine Eagle Center and the surrounding watershed area,” it said.

It added that traps have been set up around the center and search parties mobilized at night to capture the snake.

“Preventive measures are in place to ensure enclosures for animals are safe against hazards and incidents of this nature. The walls of the enclosure were snake proofed with an added layer of ½ inch wire mesh on top of the original cyclone wire with hole size of 2 by 2 inches,” it said.

PEF said that the center suspected that the possible entry points could be the feeding chute, made of a PVC pipe where food is dropped, or the screen ceiling.

PEF said the enclosure of the eaglet is adjacent to an adult Philippine eagle from the wild that can easily catch a snake but “unfortunately for fledglings, they are still vulnerable to predation.”

“They are classified as hazards under the PEC’s biosecurity measures. As such, snake proofing was done on the enclosures of the eaglet and other animals that a snake can prey on,” it said.

 

Dr. Jayson Ibañez, the foundation’s director of research and conservation, said the snake has not yet been captured.

He said the center has already enlisted two Lumad forest guards for help to catch the snake.

“Nagpatulong kami sa aming IP forest guards who are good at trapping wildlife. Two IP forest guards ang nakaduty for trapping ngayon with our own team (Two IP forest guards are on duty for trapping with our team),” he said.

PEF, AUSTRALIA AND BUKIDNON LGU RELEASE PHILIPPINE EAGLE INTO THE WILD

 

By: Ian Ray Garcia, Davao City

On Earth Day 2021, a rescued and rehabilitated Philippine Eagle was released back to its forest home. Tagoyaman Fernando is among the seven Philippine Eagles that were rescued last year - the highest rescue rate recorded in the history of Philippine Eagle conservation - and the first to be released back to the wild this year. 

Tagoyaman’s release was made possible through the support of the Australian Government, Whitley Fund for Nature, Jurong Bird Park, DENR Region X, and the local government of San Fernando and Bukidnon. 

“Rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing Philippine Eagles in the middle of a pandemic is very challenging. It’s difficult to mobilize field operations when travel restrictions are imposed and sources of funds are shut down. Still, we are able to persevere, thanks to the support of the Australian Government and other conservation partners,” said Philippine Eagle Foundation executive director Dennis Salvador. 

The short program in honor of Tagoyaman’s release was attended by the Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Steven J. Robinson AO, Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, San Fernando Vice Mayor Norberto Catalan, and Philippine Eagle Foundation trustee Francis Ledesma. 

“The Australian Embassy is proud to continue our support to the Philippine Eagle Foundation for the protection and preservation of the Philippine Eagle. |I travelled to Bukidnon to witness Tagoyaman’s release because it is an important milestone in the Philippines’ efforts in conserving local wildlife biodiversity. Australia stands with our friends in the Philippines as they protect their natural resources, in their lands or seas. This initiative reinforces our deep and expanding relationship as we celebrate the 75th Anniversary of diplomatic relations between our two countries,” Ambassador Robinson said. 

Tagoyaman was retrieved on October 2020 in San Fernando, Bukidnon, after getting accidentally caught in a native trap intended for other animals. The bird was then brought to the Philippine Eagle Center for further check-up and rehabilitation. 

“We hope to see Tagoyaman successfully breed and contribute to his species’ wild population in the future. His release on Earth Day is also our resounding call for long-term solutions to our problematic relationship with nature and wildlife. We believe that by conserving the Philippine Eagle and the biodiversity it represents, we can avoid another disease outbreak,” Salvador said. 

The PEF, through the support of its conservation partners has also taken measures for Tagoyaman’s survival in the wild. An education campaign targeting communities surrounding the release site was conducted and Indigenous forest guards were trained to perform voluntary forest patrols and monitor Tagoyaman’s movements using the GPS transmitter attached to its back, for the next six months. 

“Collaborations and partnerships play a big role in Philippine Eagle conservation. The PEF can’t save the eagles alone. We need the help of our local communities, government agencies, the private sector, and the Filipino people so that one day Philippine Eagles will thrive in the wild,” Salvador added.

Try Mindanao!

 

Mount Apo is the highest mountain in the Philippines located between Davao City in Davao del Sur Province and Cotabato Province. This majestic peak is one of the country's most popular climbing destinations.

It's the centre of wonders  in Mindanao and one of the highest land-based biological diversity in terms of flora and fauna per unit area.  

It's also home to one of the world's largest eagles, the critically endangered Philippine Eagle, which is the country's national bird.

Try Mindanao!

(Photo taken by TravelPhilippinesNow.com)

Race to Save the Philippine Eagle

Re-post of MINDANAO DAILY MIRROR Editorial from Wednesday, September 26, 2012 with friendly permission of publisher Marietta Singco).(

The Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi) continues to dwindle in number despite the valiant effort of some stakeholders, chief of which is the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF). According to the International Union for Consideration of Nature (IUCN), the Eagle qualifies as a Critically Endangered Species because it has "an extremely small population ... owing to extensive deforestation." Decades of unmitigated deforestation to fill the need of a growing human population have rendered the Eagles' habitat unviable, and now they number only between 180 and 500 adult individuals.

"Forest destruction and fragmentation, through commercial timber extraction and shifting cultivation, is the principal long-term threat, "the IUCN says. "Old-growth forest continues to be lost within the eagle's range. Moreover, most remaining lowland forest is leased to logging concessions. Mining applications pose an additional threat." Human activities, especially in Mindanao where the Eagles used to thrive, are driving the national bird to extinction.