PEF Sounds Alarm on Forest Loss

THE Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) reiterated that deforestation remains a leading threat to the survival and growth of the country’s critically endangered national bird.

Steffan Madrona, PEF’s Education and Development Manager, said there are now fewer than 400 pairs — or about 800 individual Philippine Eagles — left in the wild. 

The species’ declining population is largely driven by the rapid loss of forest cover, which is their natural habitat.

Madrona said that protecting natural habitats is essential, saying breeding efforts are meaningless if eagles have no safe place to live. She added that the foundation is working closely with Indigenous communities, empowering them to protect their ancestral lands, key to preserving the Philippine Eagle’s remaining habitats.

“Hindi kasi pwede na produce lang tayo ng produce wala naman silang matitirahan in the wild (We can’t just keep producing eagles if they have nowhere to live in the wild),” Madrona said in a radio interview on June 9 with GMA Super Radio Davao at SM City Davao.

She underscored the importance of habitat preservation alongside captive breeding. “Protecting their homes is crucial. Breeding efforts won’t matter if we have no forests left,” she said.

Madrona shared that more than 25 captive eagles under the foundation’s care are in good condition. Preparations are now underway for the next breeding season in Mindanao, scheduled for the third and fourth quarters of the year.

Despite the recent death of Riley, a three-month-old eaglet who succumbed to metabolic bone disease and possible infection, Madrona remains hopeful.

“We are doing our best to produce eaglets in the future. We are very hopeful and we are doing also everything we can as much and help the eagles in the future,” she said.

She shared that successfully hatching even one eaglet a year is already a major achievement for the foundation, given how delicate and high-maintenance Philippine Eagles are.

Currently, ten breeding eagles are housed at the National Bird Breeding Sanctuary in Eden, Toril, in preparation for the upcoming breeding season—a key initiative aimed at boosting the country’s eagle population in the years ahead. RGP