Philippine Eagle-Great Philippine Eagle-Pithecophaga jefferyi
The Philippine eagle is the largest bird of prey in the Philippines and considered the second rarest and largest in the world. It is declared as the Philippine national bird in 1995. It is known locally as agila, manaol, tipule, mamboogook, malamboogook and garuda. The Philippine eagle is formerly known as Philippine monkey-eating eagle because of the wrong belief that it feeds only on monkeys. However, it has been found that its diet also includes other forest dwellers such as flying lemurs, squirrels, snakes, bats, deer, monitor lizard, young owl, young pig, and in captivity, the eagle also eats guinea pigs, rabbits, goat meats, beef and even chicken.
The Philippine Eagle or Great Philippine Eagle has a black, narrow, 26 cm-arched bills, enormous black claws; generally, dark brown in color (in adult), partly feathered legs, and scaled lower legs. Its eyes are blue gray, the cere around the nostrils is blue green, and the head is surrounded by crest of long pale rufous feathers. It measures about one meter tall, 95 cm long and weighs approximately 4 kg. It has 6.5 ft wingspan. The Philippine eagle builds its nest on top of very tall trees and nests once every two years. Only one egg is laid, which is alternately incubated by both parents for a period of 60-61 days. The eaglet remains in the nest for about five and a half months. The breeding season ranges from as early as August to as late as January.
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Distributions and Population
John Whitehead first reported the Philippine eagle in Samar Island in 1896 (Molinyawe et al., 1999). It
is claimed that the eagle occurs only in Luzon, Samar, Leyte and Mindanao (Kennedy, 1977; Rabor,
1971). However, based on forest cover analysis and reports of additional sightings, Jensen et al., (1991)
concluded that there is still a wild population of Philippine eagle in the Sierra Madre Mountain Range
in eastern Luzon. Recent reports of sighting of Philippine eagle included those in the provinces of Cagayan, Isabela, Aurora and Eastern Samar (Labro, 1998). The Philippine eagle is listed under critically endangered by IUCN so that law strictly prohibits hunting and trade of this bird. The Philippine eagle population has dwindled to a dangerously level over the years.
For example, forty years ago, the population of the Philippine eagle was estimated to be 6,000, but according to Ellis (1972) the population is fewer than 100. The Philippine Red Data Book published by the Wildlife Conservation Society of the Philippines in 1997 placed the population of Philippine eagle at approximately 200. Recent report from DENR showed that the present population of the Philippine eagle including those in captivity is 117.
Philippine Eagle Conservation Measures
The sad plight of the Philippine eagle was first brought to the attention of the world during the 1965 IUCN Conference held in Bangkok, Thailand. As a result, the Philippine Eagle Center now the Center for Philippine Raptors (CPR) was established (Molinyawe et al., 1999). It is based at Makiling Botanical Garden, University of the Philippine Los Banos, Laguna. It is mandated to conduct scientific researches, restore habitats, monitor and protect populations, conduct educational, and information campaigns for the protection of the eagle and its habitat. Captive breeding center has been established in Mindanao in support with the activities of the center. So far, five Philippine eagles have been successfully bred in captivity: Pag-asa (hope), Pagkakaisa (unity), Pangarap (dream), and Bayani (hero). In addition to the routine population survey and habitat studies, the basic nutritional requirements and reproductive physiology of the Philippine eagle in captivity should also be investigated.
These include Administrative Order 235 (1970) prohibiting the wounding, hunting, trading and killing of the eagle, Republic Act 6147 (1970) declaring the Philippine eagle as a protected bird in the Philippines, Parks and Wildlife General Administrative Order 1 (1971) establishing rules and regulations governing the preservation of the eagle, Proclamation 1732 (1978) changing the name "monkey-eating eagle" into Philippine eagle, Republic Act 7586 (1992) providing for the establishment and management of National Integrated Protected Areas System including known habitats of the Philippine eagle, Proclamation 615 (1995) declaring the Philippine eagle as the Philippine national bird (some critics argued the wisdom of naming an endangered species as a national symbol), and lastly Proclamation 79 (1999) declaring June 4-10 of every year as Philippine eagle week.
