DAVAO CITY , Philippines – Hunting of Philippine Eagles in the wild continues to this day, with the giant raptors being shot or trapped, indicative of the extent of persecution the birds face from ruthless hunters and even local farmers.
Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) research and conservation director Jayson Ibañez yesterday said a high death rate among eagles is very dangerous because this may lead to their extinction even if thick forests still abound.
Cases of the “empty forest syndrome†where populations of predators were lost
despite the existence of suitable habitats are known in other parts of the world.
The Philippine Eagle replaced the Maya as the country’s national bird following a declaration by former President Fidel Ramos in 1995.
The PEF, on the other hand, is a non-profit organization that runs the Philippine Eagle Center in Barangay Malagos, Calinan district here.
At present, the population of the Philippine Eagle in the wild has been placed at nearly a thousand while at least 30 other giant raptors have been kept in captivity at the Malagos Eagle Center.
Ibanez said that in the Philippines, the absence of Philippine Eagle populations in some mountains in Luzon is most likely the result of hunting of eagles to extirpation.
“With the absence of migration by eagles from other mountains that can replace dying individuals, local populations can die out. Apart from long-term public education and community-based conservation in places where eagles nest and breed, law enforcement can help deter eagle hunting,†he said in a report on a Philippine Eagle that was captured last week in Lupon, Davao Oriental.
Ibanez said that a nearly mature female Philippine Eagle was captured by a local farmer when it tried to take the puppies kept under his hut near the Mainit(hot spring) area located in the boundary encompassing Davao Oriental, Compostela Valley and Davao del Norte.