Eagle Kabayan dies

Eagle Kabayan dies

THE Philippine eagle, Kabayan, the first captive-bred eagle released in Asia, met a fatal accident in the Mount Apo Natural Park last Saturday, the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) announced Tuesday.

PEF investigation into Kabayan’s death showed he may have perched on an electric post and may have been electrocuted.

The eagle was released on Earth Day, April 22, last year at the Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) forest reserves in Ilomavis, Kidapawan City with a much hyped-up countdown to his release as it was the first ever attempt by the PEF to release a captive-bred eagle to the wild.

“We are very much saddened over this development. A proper site suitability assessment has been undertaken by the PEF, endorsed by the Mount Apo Protected Area Management Board and approved by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. We have done the best we could to prepare Kabayan for its life in the wild, but by the very nature of this exercise, it is not possible for us to control all elements in nature and predict nor direct the bird’s behavior,” the PEF said in its statement.

Regular updates on how Kabayan was doing showed the eagle was adapting well and found its home in the forests of Mt. Apo for the last nine months.

The foundation said this is the first record of such death by a Philippine Eagle.

Wild Philippine Eagles have been known to roam forests with transmission towers and electrical lines, including Mount Apo and the PNOC reserve, without incident.

The eagle’s perching on an electrical wire, was thus greatly unexpected, PEF said, considering that Kabayan was among the captive-bred eagles reared in isolation in a simulated forest environment.

The PEF perceived Kabayan’s bahavior as highly individual and unique, and is not characteristic behavior of Philippine eagles.

It added that while they are grieving Kabayan’s loss, the eagle has given them valuable lessons in his nine months in the wild that can benefit other Philippine eagles raised in captivity.

The experimental release was to test whether captive-bred Philippine Eagles can learn to survive in the wild.

“Through the nine months that Kabayan spent in Mount Apo, the bird has been gradually improving its hunting skills, moving from small lizards to rodents and attempting to catch larger prey such as monkeys. The bird was making significant progress in its adjustment to hunting on its own, weaning itself from the proffered supplemental food. It is unfortunate that the experiment ended prematurely with a result that we were not aiming for, but nine months of observing Kabayan at Mount Apo yielded a vast amount of valuable data that are key to planning for the eagle’s conservation. The experiment served its purpose,” the PEF said.

Kabayan was the adopted eagle of Vice President Noli de Castro.

The Vice President decided to shoulder the eagle’s food and care expenses, including the cost of its release, shortly after its hatching in 2002.

His wife Arlene was present at the release ceremonies in April 2004.

The PNOC-Energy Development Corporation (PNOC-EDC) was also saddened by the unexpected developments in the experimental release, which they hosted at their reserve, “one of the last remaining forests that can support Kabayan’s needs,” PNOC-EDC Resident Manager Ellsworth Lucero said.

Lucero added that Kabayan “contributed a lot to the experiment and to Philippine Eagle research while helping raise awareness not only amongst our staff but among local communities around the park.”