International Breeding Programm for Philippine eagle ?

Proposal to send some Philippine eagle abroad :

Philippines mull sending eagles abroad to ensure species survival

 

It seems both Singapore Zoo and San Diego Global have offered to be halfway houses for Philippine eagles.

I would think and hope some of the well known raptor facilities' globally might get "involved".

 

They have 400 captive eagles in one facility and they haven’t sent any of them elsewhere yet? I’m glad they’re finally mulling it over now, but avian flu outbreaks are not a new phenomenon... nor are any number of other natural disasters that could singlehandedly level that whole aviary.

 

Thanks for pointing that out. That does make a considerable difference in their ability to spare birds, although I still think that they should try and disperse the population so that they are less vulnerable to chance events.

Are any eagles held in Philippine zoos, or is the aviary in Malagos the only captive population?

 

I hope former keepers Zoo Antwerp will receive a couple. A zoo in the Netherlands would be perfect, but Antwerp a relativly easy to travel.

 

It is about thirty years since I last saw a monkey-eating eagle; I’ll never get used to calling the species Philippine eagle.

See the link below for a very interesting article, published by International Zoo News, about the history of this species in captivity outside the Philippines. London Zoo was the first to acquire the species in 1909.

Monkey-Eating Eagles in Captivity

 

Specifically, it is about sending some of the captive birds overseas.
I do not believe that currently other facilities hold any eagles.

At the Malagos facility, 7 birds are actually on exhibit and in the off exhibit breeding facilities are all other eagles. There are also some other wildlife visible to the public like long-tailed macaques and Philippine brown deer. There is a small visitor center and an educational hall.

Till date 28 eagles have hatched here.

 

Don't think Antwerp would be the most obvious choise and guess Singapore or southern USA would be a much better choise because of the climate.

 

Great news, Philippine Eagle is low density species and will realistically never recover in the wild much above the current population of low 100s. The species will always need a large zoo population to be safe.

Singapore, International Centre of Birds of Prey, Tierpark Berlin, Sand Diego WAP or some zoos in California or Florida would be good. All have good experience with breeding exotic raptors and international cooperation. I would not put eagles into any zoos which only have tropical climate but lack resources and experience.

 

I was also tending towards those zoos and facilities with a good track record in birds of prey husbandry and captive-breeding. So, your choices are spot on there.

 

Yes, I am aware of the reasoning behind the change of name but I regularly saw the species labelled as monkey-eating eagle at London Zoo, as child in the 1960s, so still think of that as the name.

Moreover, "monkey-eating" is, of course, a literal translation of the generic name Pithecophaga (although their main diet is colugos).

 

This hardly seems like 'great news'?

Maybe for zoochatters but certainly not the species itself!

 

I think Jurek meant that the main piece of information in the article - that the Philippines is considering dispersing their captive eagle population globally - is great news, not that the eagle being on the verge of extinction is. Maybe this can be chalked up to confusing punctuation?

 

As Coelacanth18 said, I was happy about the prospect of international cooperation.

Philippine Eagle is one species which will forever require both aviary populations and protection in the wild. There is simply too little natural habitat left in Philippines.

It is very good that Philippine people are open to international cooperation. Some other countries seem to hoard their animals: I cannot protect them in the wild very well, but I don't allow to export any abroad. Philippines are like a cooperative spirit of European conservation.

 

I assume the whole process will be along the lines of similar MOU's in the past.
A welcome development.

Aside, it might be advisable to have a second captive-breeding facility on the Philippines too.

 

Great clip of the Philippine eagle ( with some pictures of the captive breeding programm on the Philippines ) :

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=216115142268923

 

Does anyone know if this ever progressed?

 

A pair went to Jurong in Singapore, they remain the only Philippine Eagles outside the Philippines.