26th Philippine eaglet hatched

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) announced on Wednesday the hatching of the 26th Philippine eaglet in its conservation breeding program last Dec. 7.

PEF curator Anna Mae Sumaya believes “this chick will make it,” after assessing the health of the eaglet.

This is the 26th eaglet since Pag-asa, the first Philippine Eagle bred in captivity, was born in 1992.

The eaglet is reportedly the offspring of natural pair “Go Phoenix” (female) and “MVP Eagle” (male), which hatched after 56 days of incubation.

“Assistance in hatching was done during the first few hours of the whole hatching process but the chick did it on its own when it hatched full-term,” Sumaya said.

She said the eaglet has so far shown signs of good health. 

“At two days old, the baby eagle can already lift its head and get food from forceps. It’s also very active – very attentive and observant of its surroundings. The chick responds to some bird calls heard in the background,” Sumaya added. ?The chick is said to be the first fertile egg and also the first offspring of the pair since they became partners in 2013. 

“This hatching is a big breakthrough for us and is the result of nearly five years of round robin pairing amongst our younger set of eagles at the center,” PEF executive director Dennis Salvador said. 

“We are proud of our conservation breeding team for their perseverance at this very challenging task,” he said. 

He stressed that PEF believes that this success will rekindle hope for the species and usher in a new generation of eagles to strengthen the captive gene pool and augment wild populations.

“This is our gift to the Filipino people and the rest of the world this Christmas,” Salvador said.