A New Family of Philippine Eagles Spotted in the Wild

2-year old juvenile Philippine eagle flying above the forest

Great news from the Field! A new Philippine eagle pair and their two-year old eaglet were documented at the Mt Apo Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) by Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) researchers and Energy Development Corporation (EDC) field staff last November.

PEF Biologist Ron Taraya, and Field Intern Keanu Sitjar, with EDC field crew saw an eagle couple performing mutual flights and aerial maneuvers along the boundaries of the Mt Apo Geothermal Reservation. Then, they saw an eagle parent drop off a fresh kill for the young to eat.

But seeing the juvenile eagle hunt a monkey excited them more. After a brief chase, the novice predator cornered a medium-sized long-tailed macaque amongst the thickets on a cliff . A kill was inevitable; until the macaque troop's alpha male and some beta males came to the rescue. The gang squared off with the eagle. Intimated by the yells and threat postures of the dominant primates, the inexperienced juvenile eagle backed out and flew off.

Juvenile trying to hunt a medium-sized long tailed macaque