THE PHILIPPINE EAGLE
LOAN PROGRAM
Everything you need to know about this important milestone in Philippine Eagle history!
The Wildlife Loan Agreement between Philippines and Singapore was recently signed on May 20, 2019, allowing a pair of Philippine Eagles to be housed at the Jurong Bird Park in Singapore.
why is there a need for a loan program?
As the only captive breeding facility for the Philippine Eagle in the world, we run the constant risk of having a catastrophic event like an avian flu outbreak or natural disaster wipe out the entire captive population in an instant. Having other repositories aside from the Philippine Eagle Center in Davao City ensures that we will continue to have a viable gene pool available should such unfortunate incidents occur.
Branding
The Philippine Eagle Loan Program is but one of the many conservation strategies we employ to save the Philippine Eagle from extinction.
Partnering with wildlife reserves singapore
Caring for a critically endangered species like the Philippine Eagle is no easy task. This is why the participation of a reputable institution like the WRS is instrumental.
As one of the leading zoological facilities in the world, the WRS is also set to do collaborative eagle breeding in close coordination with the PEF Conservation Breeding team and DENR. The WRS also offers a unique platform to educate more people about the ecological and cultural value of the Philippine Eagle that will help in advancing the conservation mission even further.
One of the avian veterinarians checking on an Oriental Pied Hornbill
Keeper feeding pelicans at Jurong Bird Park's Pelican Cove
Junior Animal Care Officer gingerly checking on an endangered Santa Cruz ground dove chick
One of the avian veterinarians checking on an Oriental Pied Hornbill
life in jurong bird park
A couple taking a picture with the Sun Conures
Guests enjoying the High Flyers Show at the Pools Amphitheatre
Guest feeding the lories and lorikeets at Lory Loft 3
A couple taking a picture with the Sun Conures
Upon the pair's arrival in Singapore, they will be undergoing strict quarantine procedures as part of the biosafety protocols, and to ensure that the eagles are well-adjusted to their new environment before they are released into their permanent enclosures.
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The WRS will also be launching a Philippine Eagle campaign in November.
fast facts
The Wildlife Reserves Singapore will also attempt to breed the Philippine Eagle pair. In the even o successful breeding, all offspring shall remain property of the Philippines.
The two Philippine Eagles are set to stay in Singapore for 10 years.
TIMELINE OF EVENTS RELEVANT TO THE PHILIPPINE EAGLE LOAN PROGRAM
1996
Suspected progenitor sub-type of the Avian Infuenza Virus (AIV) detected in geese in Guandong Province, China
1996
PEF submitted to DENR its “Risk Management for the IUCN critically endangered Philippine Eagle” paper, which proposed the loan of eagles to reputable institutions as a safety net against catastrophes, including diseases and freak typhoons.
December 2012.
Typhoon “Pablo”, strongest tropical cyclone ever to hit Southern Philippines, destroyed properties and forests, and killing nearly 2000 people. The eye of the typhoon is just 96 km away from the Philippine Eagle Center, where all our captive population is housed.
January 2017
Philippine Eagle Working Group signs Resolution No 2015 01 “Adopting the Protocol on the Loan of Philippine Eagles”
May 4, 2018
DENR Issuance of Memorandum Circular (DMC) No. 2018-14 entitled “Adopting the Protocol on the Loan of Philippine Eagles”, which officially approves the
Philippine Eagle Loan Program.
June 4, 2019
Transport of the first eagle couple to be loaned (Eagles Geothermica, male, and Sambisig, female) from the Philippine Eagle Center, Davao City to Singapore.
2002-2008
Highly pathogenic H5N1 and other AVI subtypes in poultry and waterfowls across Southeast Asia, Asia, Europe and Africa resulted in deaths of hundreds of millions of birds.
2010-2016
Infections from 17 AVI subtypes in > 58 million individual birds from all kinds of avian species, including commercial and backyard poultry, game birds, and wild birds, including birdsof-prey.
November 2013
Super-typhoon Yolanda, one of the world’s most powerful tropical cyclones, killed over 6,000 people in Central Visayas. Swaths of eagle forest habitats in Leyte and Samar
were also destroyed.
April-September 2017
First Avian Flu H5N6 virus strain outbreak in the Philippines killing at least 37,000 poultry birds in Central Luzon
May 20, 2019
Signing of the first, international Wildlife Loan Agreement (WLA) for Philippine Eagles between the DENR and the Wildlife Reserves Singapore