DAVAO CITY, Philippines – An adult male eagle has been monitored to have faithfully fed his eight-month-old eaglet after the mother was killed by suspected hunters at the foot of Mt. Apo in Barangay Sibulan here last month.
According to Jayson Ybañez, head of the research and conservation division of the non-profit Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF), the eaglet was able to survive because its father brought food on a regular basis to its nest.
“The father eagle brings food to the eaglet once a week and he has not failed yet in feeding the juvenile raptor,” Ybanez added.
Ybañez also said that the eaglet did not touch the rabbits that the PEF field research team prepared, an indication that the eaglet is full and properly fed.
The PEF team and indigenous Bagobo Tagabawa forest guards installed radio and satellite GPS transmitters to the eaglet.
They also would have installed GPS satellite transmitters on the adult male eagle, but they found the that eagle bow net trap and observation hide in Sitio Mamaon in Barangay Sibulan were destroyed and vandalized.
The bow net trap and the observation hide are important for radio and satellite telemetry research of the eagles. The field research team traps the giant raptors using the bow net, so they can install VHF and GPS satellite transmitters into the eagles to track their movements.
The bow net trap is worth at least P46,000 and exclusively sourced from the United States. And Sitio Mamaon is said to host the oldest known nesting territory of a breeding pair of the critically endangered Philippine Eagle, the country’s national bird.
Ybañez said the perpetrators even managed to leave a message in the Visayan dialect in the observation hide that read, “Benefits should have come for everyone, next would be the eagles!”
Ybañez said it is apparent that the perpetrators felt they were left out of the benefits due to the presence of the eagles in the area. “However, it is sad to note that they seem to be ready to harm the eagles if they don’t get what they want.”
The PEF team reported the incident to the local police.
Ybañez explained that the bow net trap consists of two semicircular bows of light metal with gill netting strung loosely between them.
“When setting the trap, the upper bow is pulled over the lower stationary bow and latched into position. A lure animal, like rabbit, guinea pig or monkey, is placed at the center of the trap. When a raptor grabs and holds the lure, the trap is triggered by a person in a hide by pulling a trigger line. When triggered, the bow springs into a 10-feet diameter frame,” he said.