Two Philippine eagles are set to be translocated to Leyte as part of a conservation effort by the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF), according to Dr. Jayson Ibañez, PEF's director for research and conservation.
In a media interview on Saturday morning, November 25, 2023, Ibañez explained that the initiative, in collaboration with the Mohamed Bin Zayed Raptor Conservation Fund (MBZRCF), aims to reintroduce and establish a self-sustaining population of Philippine Eagles in Leyte.
“The goal is to reintroduce, release Philippine Eagles from Mindanao, especially the immature and juvenile Philippine Eagles to Leyte, and then once they become sexually mature they would start a self-sustaining population,” Ibañez said.
The decision to focus on juvenile and immature eagles for translocation is driven by the alarming rate of shooting and trapping of these birds in Mindanao.
To ensure their safety, PEF chose Leyte as a relocation site, where the Local Government Unit (LGU), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and the Energy Development Corporation are committed to protecting the habitat.
Pending government permits, the foundation plans to release a male and a female eagle to the mountains of Leyte, with identified release sites. Over the three-year project duration, PEF hopes to release a total of six eagles.
Before their release, the eagles will undergo the hacking process, spending a month in a cage to acclimatize. GPS trackers will monitor their movements, and local forest guards will provide additional oversight.
Leyte was chosen due to the absence of Philippine Eagle sightings after Super Typhoon Yolanda in 2013. Ibañez highlighted the loss of the eagle population on the island and expressed the dream of repopulating Leyte, underscoring the importance of the MBZRCF partnership in achieving this challenging task.
The eagles are exclusively found in four islands across the country—Luzon, Leyte, Samar, and Mindanao—comprising 60 percent of their population.
Following the impact of Super Typhoon Yolanda, there were no eagle sightings during subsequent annual surveys in the affected area.
“We think that the population in Leyte island might have suffered from hunting pressures and then when Yolanda came in 2013, the typhoon wiped out the remaining individuals hanging out in the remaining forest,” Ibañez said.
Dennis J.I. Salvador, executive director of PEF, said in a media interview that the collaboration with MBZRCF extends beyond this translocation project. Future initiatives will involve working with Indigenous Communities (ICs) to preserve the eagles' habitat.
Munir Virani, CEO of MBZRCF, acknowledged the Philippines and Abu Dhabi's shared interest in bird conservation. He commended PEF's efforts to protect the critically endangered Philippine Eagle and emphasized the importance of translocating juvenile birds to provide them a second chance at life in a safe habitat.
“The work done by the Philippine Eagle Foundation has been exemplary in helping to protect the Philippine Eagle which is listed as a critically endangered species and we are very proud and honored to help contribute to help contribute to a very small portion of this where the plan is to translocate immature birds that are in Mindanao to this new habitat that is suitable for Philippines Eagles,” Virani said.
He added, “Conservation is not a fast process, it takes time, it takes commitment, it takes a lot of patience, and it takes a lot of resources.”
Founded in 2018 by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the MBZRCF aims to collaborate globally to safeguard birds of prey, including the Philippine Eagle. RGP
Related stories:
