TACLOBAN CITY – The Philippine Eagle Foundation targets to release 16 birds in five years.
Doctor Jayson Ibanez, Director of Operations of the Philippine Eagle Foundation, shared 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 the surplus mature Philippine eagles with no pairs yet are the ones 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 said initiative aims to introduce the birds 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,” he explained.
Now on their second year of the Philippine Eagle Reintroduction Program, three eagles—Lakpue, Lyra Sinabadan, and Kalatungan—have been transported from the National Bird Breeding Sanctuary and the Philippine Eagle Center in Davao to Mahagnao, Burauen, Leyte on Friday (March 21, 2025).
Lakpue, is a 20-year-old male eagle that will be introduced as a potential mate for Carlito. Lyra Sinabadan is an 8-year-old sexually matured female that will be paired with 3-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. He drowned near the coast of Baybay City, Leyte. (By Marie Tonette Marticio / EV Mail March 17-23, 2025 issue)
