The Haribon Foundation, with the support of the Disney’s Friends for Change has produced a 6-minute video aimed at children on deforestation and its impacts, and what Haribon is doing to tackle the problem and restore degraded forests as part of BirdLife’s Forests of Hope programme.

For several years, Haribon has been implementing a conservation project in the Sierra Madre, the longest mountain range in the Philippines, on the island of Luzon. The Sierra Madre supports one of the largest remaining forest blocks, and one of the richest wildlife communities known from any forest area in the country. It is the home to one of the biggest eagles in the world the Philippine Eagle.

The Philippine Eagle - Pithecophaga jefferyi - also known as the Monkey-eating Eagle, is endemic to the Philippines. It is the Philippine National Bird and is one of the rarest, largest, and most powerful birds in the world. It is on four major islands in the Philippines.

Description

The Philippine Eagle's nape is adorned with long brown feathers that form a shaggy crest. They have a dark face and a creamy-brown nape and crown. The back is dark brown, while the underside and underwings are white. The heavy legs are yellow with large, powerful dark claws. The bill is large, high-arched, deep and bluish-gray. The eyes are blue-gray. Juveniles are similar to adults except that their upperpart feathers have pale fringes.

Call

Adults - loud, high-pitched whistles, young have a series of high-pitched calls when begging for food.

Food

The primary prey varies from island to island depending on species availability. On Luzan Island the prey is made up of are monkeys, birds, giant cloud-rats and reptiles such as large snakes and lizards. On Mindanao Island it is the Philippine Flying Lemur.

Breeding

Breeding begins between September and February and the complete breeding cycle of the Philippine Eagle lasts two years. The nest is a huge platform made of sticks and is frequently reused the same nesting site for several breeding seasons. The female lays one egg, occasionally two. Both birds incubate the egg for a period of between 58 to 68 days. The young bird is feed by both parents and fledges after four or five months. The parents care for the young for approximately 20 months.

Conservation Status – Critically Endangered

Between 180 and 500 Philippine Eagles survive in the Philippines. They are threatened primarily by deforestation through logging and expanding agriculture. Old growth forest is being lost at a high rate. Mining, pollution, exposure to pesticides and poaching are major threats. The Philippine Eagle Foundation has successfully bred Philippine Eagles in captivity for over a decade and conducted the first experimental release of a captive-bred eagle to the wild. The foundation has 32 eagles at its center, of which 18 were bred in captivity.

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