Manila Bulletin, Philippines : Another Philippine Eagle hatched in captivity in Davao City

01/09/2003

Another Philippine Eagle hatched in captivity in Davao City

ByCris T. Fabian

DAVAO CITY (PNA) — Another eaglet has been hatched at the Philippine eagle breeding center in Malagos district, this city, bringing to 12 the number of eagles bred in captivity.

The Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) said the eaglet, hatched at 8:20 a.m. last Monday, was the second bird born by the natural pair of Jag and Ka Brianne – the two most prolific couple – from the last breeding season. It was laid last Nov. 10.

The Philippine eagle, one of the biggest eagles in the world, is an endangered species.

The eaglet is the seventh produced by Jag and Ka Brianne. The two are the parents of eagles Pangarap, Maginoo, Bayani, Kapayapaan, Mia and a yet-to-be-named eagle.

The chick was supposed to be hatched last Saturday but the egg did not show any sign of breaking its shell.

Domingo Tadena, the foundation’s deputy director for conservation breeding, decided to help the eaglet by slowly cracking its shell. When the eaglet showed progress, Tadena and his team continued assisting the eaglet throughout the hatching process.

The eaglets weighed 11 grams, a relatively small compared to the first two eaglets that were hatched last November.

“The eaglet is healthy and doing fairly well,” Tadena said, smiling.

The foundation is calling corporations and individuals to adopt the newly hatched eagle.

The PEF’s Adopt-an Eagle Program aims to provide private individuals and companies the opportunity to become god-parents of an eagle for R100,000 annually for six years.

This amount represents the adopted eagle’s maintenance, food and veterinary care for a year. In return, they are given the privilege of naming their adopted eagle and will receive regular updates on their wards.

Two other eggs are in the incubator.