The country’s pride– Philippine Eagle, is almost losing the game of life as they are slowly disappearing from the earth. This endangered species is known for so many things, and among them is being a monkey-eating eagle. What does that exactly mean?
Below are the things that we should know about the national bird of the Philippines as we celebrate the National Philippine Eagle Week.
Eagles do not eat monkeys
During our elementary years, we were taught that the Philippine Eagle was a monkey-eating eagle, and we believed it and took it literally. How it got the name was because it was believed to be preying on monkeys since researchers found small pieces of undigested monkey parts in the first Philippine Eagle they ever examined.
3 ft. in height, 7 ft. wingspan
The eagle is HUGE with 3 ft. in height starting the head down to its tail. Its wings are glorious, boasting of its beautiful, and strong 7 ft. length. No wonder why they fly so smoothly and sharply. They are kings of the Philippine skies!
Only in the Philippines
Photo from Flickr
In previous years, the Philippines’ national bird was Maya until the discovery of the Philippine Eagle. The bird was known to have great and extraordinary qualities, more so, it was only found in the Philippines alone. This urged the Philippine government to declare a new national bird.
They are faithful to their partners
The Philippine Eagle deserves an award for being faithful to their spouses. Once they’ve found their true love, they stick with them until death. They are free to “remarry” once their partner dies. But until then, they don’t play around.
They lay one egg every two years
Photo from Wikimedia Commons
Their eggs are premium because these eagles don’t lay multiple eggs in one push. They only give birth once every two years and make sure that their offspring can survive on its own before adding another one in the family. How is that for great family planning and responsible parenthood?
Their lifetime is about 60 years
Philippine Eagles can grow as old as humans because they can live up to 30 to 60 years. That’s long enough for a captivated animal. Researchers believe that if the Eagles were left in their natural habitat, they could live longer.
The Filipinos did not discover the Philippine Eagle
Photo from Wikimedia Commons
If you think that the locals found and discovered the rare species, then you are wrong. The species was discovered by John Whitehead, a British naturalist, and named (scientific name) the bird after his father.
Hunting causes them to become more endangered
The Philippine Eagle is rare and as mentioned, you can only find it in the Philippines. Sad to say, humans take advantage of its rarity and hunt them in the wild. Hunters take pride in shooting strong animals without thinking about the effects of such action.
Less natural habitats
Deforestation is among the major reasons as to why we are almost losing our most prized possession. Removal of their natural habitat means that the nests that they built and their food sources are almost gone; and sadly, so are they.
Bird of Prey
The film Bird of Prey is an eye-opening on the reality of the world’s rarest eagle species. It will be shown via free public screening in Zamboanga, at 4 PM today. The documentary will be shown on June 7 in Robinsons Butuan Cinema 6, June 10 in General Santos, Robinsons Place Cinema 2, and Davao, June 12, SM City Davao, Cinema 3.
Sources:
ABS CBN
Philippine Eagle Foundation
Culture Trip
Philippine Eagle Foundation
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