Fallen tree branch kills Phl eagle

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – A rare Philippine eagle, whose species is on the brink of extinction, died when a tree branch fell on its cage in a breeding center here, a conservation group said yesterday.

Dennis Salvador, executive director of the Philippine Eagle Foundation that runs the Malagos center, said days of non-stop rain caused the huge tree branch to fall on the 15-year-old captive-bred eagle named “Arakan,” crushing the raptor on Jan. 18.

Arakan was one of about 250 adult Philippine eagles remaining, according to the Swiss-based International
Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which lists the species as “critically endangered.”

The eagle died of internal hemorrhage as shown by the blood clot around its nostrils. An examination conducted on Arakan showed bruises on its head and upper torso.

Numerous large trees are planted inside the center because the conservation group is “trying to simulate the natural environment of the eagles,” said the foundation’s communications officer Beauxy Auxtero.

The eagle is one of the largest birds of prey in the world and is the most critically endangered of all the world’s raptors, according to the IUCN website.

Famed for its elongated nape feathers that form into a shaggy crest, the Philippine eagle is found only on four of the Philippines’ largest islands but mostly in Mindanao, and grows to a meter with a two-meter wingspan.

The Philippine Eagle Foundation rescues stricken birds in the wild, including Arakan who was turned over to the foundation in 1999. It also has a captive breeding program.

The eagle, which is the country’s national bird, is protected by law but authorities say the biggest threat is the loss of habitat as humans encroach on the country’s dwindling forest ranges.

Efforts to release rehabilitated birds into the wild have had mixed success.

In October last year, a juvenile male eagle was found dead, apparently shot just two months after it was released by the foundation.