TACLOBAN CITY – The Philippine Eagle Foundation is eyeing the release of 16 Philippine Eagles in five years.
ONE of the Philippine Eagles released in Burauen, Leyte.
Jayson Ibanez, Director of Operations of the Philippine Eagle Foundation, said that based on their estimate, all forests in Mindanao have territorial pairs with surplus or sexually mature birds that can be seen within the boundaries of territories.
He added that surplus mature Philippine Eagles with no pairs yet are usually being shot and trapped.
One of their methodologies in collaboration with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) involves the relocation of surplus Philippine Eagles to mitigate threats.
The initiative aims to introduce them into forested areas that do not currently host Philippine Eagles to enhance their protection through the involvement of stakeholders.
“We will be bringing back Philippine Eagles to Leyte through translocating surplus eagles from Mindanao and hopefully in the future, there will be surplus birds from Samar that can be transferred here,” Ibanez said.
In the second year of the Philippine Eagle Reintroduction Program, three eagles – Lakpue, Lyra Sinabadan, and Kalatungan – were transported from the National Bird Breeding Sanctuary and the Philippine Eagle Center in Davao City to Mahagnao, Burauen, Leyte on Friday, March 21.
Lakpue is a 20-year-old male eagle that will be introduced as a potential mate for Carlito.
Lyra Sinabadan is an eight-year-old sexually mature female that will be paired with three-year-old Kalatungan, a juvenile male.
“Kalatungan may be younger but we have introduced cohort bonding protocols. Hopefully, they become sexually mature pairs eventually,” he said.
The program was first launched in 2024 with the release of Carlito and Uswag.
While the female eagle Carlito adjusted well to the Mahagnao landscape, the young male Uswag got lost after wandering too far.
He may have been confused by the unusual weather and drowned near the coast of Baybay, Leyte.