RP EAGLES : SO MUCH TO LEARN, SO LITTLE TIME

ACROSS THE NATION: INQUIRER MINDANAO
Editor: Jun Bandayre
Bureau Chief: Carolyn O. Arguillas
Saturday June 5, 1999

The Philippine Eagle through the years

1896: Birtish Bird Collector John Whitehead collects first known eagle specimen; eagle is shot by Whiteheads' assistant on the neck.

16 December 1896: Eagle presented and named Pithecophaga for jefferyi by W.R. Ogilivie-Grant at the 39th meeting of the British Ornithologists' Club. Pithecophaga for "monkey-eating" based on interviews with the natives and "jefferyi" in honor of Whithead's father who financed the expedition.

1965- Prof. Dioscoro Rabor alerts the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) "Conference on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources in South East Asia" in Bangkok, Thailand, that the monkey-eating eagle has become an endangered species, with only 36 to 60 eagles in the wild.

1969-Monkey-eating Eagle Conservation Program set up under Jesus Alvarez and IUCN representatives- Prof. Tom Harrison of Cornell University and famous aviator Charles Lindbergh.

1970-US Peace Corps volunteers participate in conservation program.

25 August 1970-President Ferdinand Marcos signs Administrative Order No. 235 "prohibiting the wounding, taking selling, exchanging and/or exporting, possessing and killing" of the eagle.

9 November 1970-RA 6147 passed, declaring the Philippine eagle "a protected bird in the Philippines, providing for the preservation of the same and authorizing the appropriation of funds for the purpose." It provided for P100,000.00 for the first year after the approval of the act and subsequent appropriations to be included in the Genera Appropriations Act. Violators shall be punished with prison correcional or a "fine of not less than P600.nor more than P1,000.00 or both, such imprisonment and fine at the discretion of the court.

(Jesus Alvarez, then chief of the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau said in a 1988 interview that the law protecting the eagle was unanimously passed by both chambers of Congress after the Lindbergh's visit in 1970. Alvarez recalls every congressman an senator wanted to shake hands with the world famous Lindbergh who said his only concern was for a law to be passed to protect the eagle and tamaraw).

10 May 1971- General AO No. 1 of the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, series of 1971, defines the provisions stated in RA 6147. It established several steps to protect the eagle and its nesting sites and deputized officials to enforce the law. It also prohibits the cutting of any tree or plant with in a one-kilometer radius of a Philippine eagle nesting site.

8 May 1978-Marcos issues Proclamation No.1732, renaming the "monkey-eating eagle" as the Philippine eagle.

1987-The Philippine Eagle Conservation Program is renamed the Philippine Eagle Foundation.

2 July 1988-Captive eagles evacuated from Camp Baracatan in Toril, Davao City, to Malagos, Calinan, Davao City, because of the insurgency. It was the first recorded transfer of an endangered species from an equally endangered place. By then government support for the program was cut off.

15 January 1992-Pag-asa, first eaglet conceived in captivity through artificial insemination, hatched.

25 October 1995-Proclamation No.615 of President Fidel V. Ramos, declaring the Philippine eagle the national bird, replacing the maya. It also mandated all government agencies to help in the conservation of the bird.

9 November 1995-Mindanaw, the first Philippine Eagle, conceived in captivity out of a natural pair, hatched; dies hours later due to congenital defect.

23 February 1999- first successful hatching of an eagle out of natural pair. Contest launched to name the eaglet. Winning entry: Pangarap, named by eight children with the grand prize winner, Graciele Anne Atienza Pascual of Cabanatuan City.

24 February 1999-Proclamation No. 79 of President Estrada, declaring June 4-10 as the Philippine Eagle Week to "instill in the minds of the people the importance of the Philippine eagle as a biological indicator of the forest ecosystems, as a national symbol and as a unique heritage.

· Excessive deforestation and destruction of virgin forests, especially of the dipterocarp type, due to ruthless logging and agricultural practices.

· Overhauling and overcollection of the eagle by hunters, aggravated y the negligence of authorities concerned in the proper implementation of the conservation lawas and regulations that have been designed to protect the species.

· The slow rate of reproduction of the species and the difficulty, if not the impossibility, of rearing this eagle species in captivity and making them breed under simulated conditions in a confined area.

These are the reasons behind the Philippine Eagle's near extinction, acording to a Bureau of Forestry Development pamphlet in 1982.

Ten years later, an eagle was born in captivity in a breeding center whose government funding had been stopped for about five years and which has been subsisting on foreign grants and donations from private firms and multinational companies.

Described by aviator Charles Lindbergh, as the "air's noblest flier," The Philippine eagle evolved in the ten lush Philippine forests millions of years ago. But today's generation of Filipinos may yet be the last to see them in the wild.

The continuing loss of habitat has severely affected the species.

Dennis Salvador, executive director of the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF), hopes the government's policy of reform can encourage research instead of inhibit it.

Last year, the PEF, a private group that has successfully bred the Philippine eagles in captivity, sought permission form the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to radio-tag eagles in the wild to learn more about their territorial range, among others.

It also proposed five years ago to collect eaglets in the wild to increase the very limited gene pool in the center. But there is so much as yet to learn and yes, unlearn about the Philippine Eagle. Here are excerpts from an interview with Salvador and Dr. Hector Miranda, PEF science director. Do Philippine Eagles really establish and defend a territory of 60 to 100 sq. kilometers?

Maybe, maybe not. We will know after we have tagged several pairs. Territory and home range are things that scientists can infer based on radiotelemetry, a technology that would allow investigators to track wildlife by attachment of transmitters. We have applied for a permit from the DENR to tag the eagles the application has been reviewed since then and some conditions have been imposed, such as limits on the number of tagged birds, revision if sine aspects of the proposal and obtaining prior informed consent certificates from local communities and the protected area management boards.

Do the eagles mate in midair?

No bird has ever been recorded to mate in midair. It is possible early investigators observed eagles clasping talons in midair during territorial battles or as part of their courtship ritual and may have been interpreted as mating behavior.

In January, the PEF update showed the captive population at 16 and 107 in the wild and that total known population is 123, up from 53 in 1992. Dr. Rabor in 1965 said that there were only 36 to 60 eagles in the wild. Now you're saying there are at least 200 eagle pairs or 400 individuals in Mindanao alone. What's our basis for saying this when we also know that their habitat is in real bad shape.

This is not confusing (data). Early naturalists like the late Dr. Rabor based their firgures on the paucity of sightings of the eagles and may be speculative at best because they did not have the information or better technology than we have now. With all due respect to naturalists like Dr.Rabor, their studies laid the foundation and catalyzed the many conservation programs we see in the Philippines now.

During the last 20 years of research, we have accumulated information based on 69 nesting attempts by 43 pairs all over Mindanao. We have mapped this information. The estimate of 200 pairs-`193 to 204 to be more precise, was based mainly on regular spacing of eagle nests and territorial pairs and the present forest cover figures for Mindanao, as provided fro by the DENR.

We will revise our estimate soon as we obtain more reliable information. The 200 pairs or 400 individuals may or may not be the real number of the real eagles. Unless we reach the level of wild life research in developed countries like Britain, where every egg laid by every wild bird is documented we may not know the exact number . . . .

Q. What number constitutes "endangered" as far s the Philippine Eagle is concerned?

A. "Endangered" or "threatened" are labels by conservationists to focus attention on a particular species facing extinction. This is not simply based on a number of individuals. One criterion is restricted distribution of the population as in island species. Another is rate of destruction of the habitat in which the focal species is to be found. Another is when a species depends on a restricted diet that is itself disappearing.

There are other criteria but it is common knowledge that most species endemic to tropical islands are most vulnerable. Dr. David Steadman of the University of Florida said 90 percent of bird species that have become extinct since 1600 lived on islands.

The Philippine Eagle is restricted to the main four islands of the Philippines and, most probably, have evolved within the lowland dipterocarp (lawaan) forest which is now down to 5percent of the original.

Q. How many compatible eagle pairs do we have in captivity now? There are 12 females and four males in 1995.

A. WE have 16 birds, of which six are males, eight are females and two undetermined sex status (Pangarap & BGR).

We have only two compatible pairs, two imprinted male semen donors, two mature males (Pag-asa & Pagkakaisa) but unable to produce viable semen yet, six imprinted females and two unproductive females.

Q. Fears have been expressed about "putting all the eggs in one basket," that if a disease struck the eagle center, all the eagles and other birds would be stricken too. Is PEF setting up satellite breeding centers?

A. Yes, we hope to set up these up in the future. But our present resources-financial as well as eagle breeding stock-do not permit us to expand our breeding operations.

Q. Will you be collecting eagle eggs in the wild?

A. Not eggs as these are difficult to transport. WE have proposed to collect very young birds so these can be reared properly to adapt to captive conditions. We will be "hitting two birds with one stone" - help build and improve the current captive population and double production in the wild as the loss of the young will induce the parents to breed again the following season. We will enable the production of two birds over two years instead of only one bird every two years as normally occurs in the wild.

Q. Will any of the captive eagles be released to the wild at all or will they be caged forever?

A. It is unlikely to release any of the captive eagles at the center. The limited number of birds we have now basically forms the nucleus of the gene pool. IT is ironic that now that we have developed the techniques for effective propagation in captivity, we are finding it difficult to acquire new birds to restock the current gene pool which is already aging and shown to be problematic to begin with.

We may probably start releasing captive-bred birds as early as four years from now but only because we do not want to keep more birds coming in from the same parents.

Q. Are we still in danger of waking up one day to find a dead bird for a national symbol?

A. Yes, the Philippine Eagle, as well as hundreds or thousands of other life forms in the Philippine Archipelago are facing extinction. It is possible that this generation of Filipinos will be the last to see the eagles in the wild.

But scientific researches such as ours have provided vital information for the management of eagles in the wild.

For example our studies suggest that a pair may require an average of 70 sq.kms. of forest in an average of 131 sq. kms of nesting "space". But an isolated pair in Mt. Sinaka (North Cotabato), with a forest cover of less than 25 sq. ms. Have been breeding successfully since 1996. Whether this observation is a reflection of the long time-lag to extinction, or resilience, is yet to be seen. The fragmentation of the rainforest may have fragmented the population of the eagles and other wildlife as well. Besides territory and home range, and how they use the habitat, we would like to get answers as to whether juvenile (eagles) and surplus individuals that are supposed to replace dying birds in occupied territories ever succeed in crossing barren landscapes.

The answers we seek should provide ornithologists the confidence to predict if they may be vulnerable to inbreeding or if hands-on intervention is needed, like releasing captive bred or rehabilitated birds in an unoccupied territory. These are formidable scientific undertakings but we will persist in our research, one answer at a time, so we can better understand the life history of the bird and our environment. Perhaps, by learning more about nature, we can learn more about ourselves and our own future.

"Ika nga ni E. O. Wilson, the famed naturalist who coined the word "biodiversity": one good thing about our species is we like a challenge.

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