PHILIPPINE Eagle “Candalaga” was successfully tagged with a GPS tracker and released back into the mountain forests of Maragusan, Davao de Oro, highlighting a significant milestone for the species' survival.
The Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) announced on August 27, 2026, that the operation was led by its Senior Biologist and Telemetry Study Leader Ron Taraya, alongside field staff from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Indigenous forest guards from the Sumpaw organization.
After months of surveillance, the team safely trapped the one-year-old juvenile eagle on February 1, 2026.
The raptor, weighing 4.5 kilograms with a 1.6-meter wingspan, was found in fair-to-good health. Researchers fitted him with a radio transmitter for local monitoring and a GPS tracker to follow his long-range movements before releasing him back into the forest canopy the same afternoon.
The operation marks a historical milestone for regional conservation, as PEF records confirm Candalaga belongs to the first-ever active Philippine Eagle nest documented in Davao de Oro, which was discovered in 2025.
According to PEF, tracking Candalaga will allow scientists to monitor his flight range, territory dispersal, and survival as he gradually establishes independence from his parents.
Data gathered from the eagle will directly support ongoing efforts to declare the Mt. Candalaga nesting territory—an estimated 28,986 hectares of forest habitat—as a Critical Habitat under Republic Act 9147, or the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act.
Official documentation shows that the mountain range holds deep cultural significance for the Indigenous Mansaka people, who honor it as a “Dumot”—a sacred forest tied to their ancestral heritage. PEF researchers also noted that Mt. Candalaga serves as the province's only documented habitat for the critically endangered Rafflesia magnifica, a rare giant flower.
"The goal is to help people and wildlife continue to live in the same landscape in a responsible way," PEF stated in its report, emphasizing that protecting the eagle ensures the preservation of the entire forest ecosystem. GRS
