Twenty years ago, the Philippine Eagle Center became the toast of the world when it made the impossible task: having a tropical eagle born in captivity. It was the result of a long and tedious work of the Philippine Eagle Foundation, Inc. (PEFI) to save the very rare bird found only in the Philippines.
Today, the center is one of the most often visited places in Davao City. Some 30 kilometers northwest and about an hour’s ride from the heart of the city, it hosts about 100,000 tourists and visitors every year.
Almost always, people who have a close encountered with the country’s bird icon are mesmerized by its beauty.
“They are impressive birds,” said Chad Gessele, an American from Oregon who edits Better Life Television, Inc. “Before my mini-trip there, I knew of these things, knew their basic statistics, but seeing them up close is a different deal.”
In July 1995, then President Fidel V. Ramos signed Proclamation No. 615 naming the Philippine eagle as the country’s national bird. He said that the bird is found only in the Philippines and as such it should be a source of national pride.
The Philippine eagle is listed by the International Union of Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) as among the country’s threatened birds. If the national bird dies, according to Ramos, “so will all the country’s efforts at conserving its natural resources and treasures.”
The eagle center was opened to the public in 1988. Simulating a tropical rain forest environment, it offers visitors a glimpse into the country’s forest ecosystem (as it is located at the foothills of Mount Apo, the country’s highest peak). Here, visitors – both locals and foreigners – can see more than a dozen eagles, some of which were rescued after they were trapped or shot.
Thirty-two birds have been raised as part of a breeding program. Most of them are being induced to breed in captivity. Pag-asa (a Tagalog word for “hope”) is one of its noted attractions; yes, the first tropical eagle conceived through artificial insemination.
“Pag-asa connotes hope for the continued survival of the Philippine eagle, hope that if people get together for the cause of the eagle, it shall not be doomed to die,” says Dennis Salvador, the PEFI executive director.
The PEFI firmly believes that the fate of the endangered Philippine eagle, the health of the country’s environment, and the quality of Filipino life are inextricably linked. “By using the Philippine eagle as the focal point of conservation, we are, in the process, saving wildlife and their habitat,” Salvador points out.
Philippine eagle (scientific name: Pithecophaga jefferyi) is not the only bird you can see at the center.
There are several others; some of them were turned over by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for protection and/or conservation.
On why the Philippine eagle is fast disappearing in the country, Salvador cited deforestation as the culprit.
“Deforestation is terrible,” he pointed out. “The Philippine eagle has become a critically endangered species because the loss of the forest had made it lose its natural habitat.”
A pair of Philippine eagle needs at least 7,000 to 13,000 hectares of forest as a nesting territory.
In the near future, PEFI aims to release the captive birds and those that have been artificially bred back into its natural habitat. But “if time will come that we have enough stocks of Philippine eagles, where shall we release them?” Salvador asks.
In the meantime, the center has been doing its best to educate the Filipino people as to the importance of the bird and its habitat.
Guests are charged a nominal fee to enter the facility. The proceeds are used to support research and conservation efforts of the PEFI. The center depends largely on donations from individuals and multinational companies.
The question remains: Will the Philippine eagle go to the same way as the extinct dodo?
