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Flag-carrier Philippine Airlines flew two Philippine eagles from their home in Davao City to the Wildlife Reserves of Singapore (WRS) via Manila as part of the first international Philippine Eagle Loan Agreement on June 4, 2019.
This agreement has been made between the government of the country through the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and WRS.
The pair Geothermica and Sambisig are being loaned to WRS specifically at the Jurong Bird Park to hopefully encourage breeding at Singapore of this endangered species.
This 10-year eagle loan program by the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) envision to secure the gene pool of the eagles against natural calamities that can hinder the wildlife of the only captive Philippine eagle population at the Philippine Eagle Center in Malagos Davao City where both were hatched and reared.
The preserved gene pool can also be critical in preservation efforts in case of health epidemics like the avian flu.
Many of PEF’s eagles at the bird sanctuary have corporate sponsors. : Geothermica, male, is sponsored by Energy Development Corporation; Sambisig, female, by Dow Chemical Philippines.
The 4-star airline PAL is the sponsor to another eagle named Sinag.
“Through the PAL Foundation, we are flying the loaned eagles to Singapore because we firmly believe in the eagle preservation advocacy of the PEF,” said Mr. Jaime J. Bautista, PAL President and PEF Vice Chairman.
15 year old Geo and 17 year old Sam, are at the prime age of breeding who were previously paired with other eagles at the Center but did not progress at all.
Captive-bred eagles are said to be more resilient than those from the wild.
Meanwhile, the WRS, one of the world’s leading zoological institutions, has been supporting conservation efforts across Southeast Asia through wildlife research and awareness campaigns with over 50 wildlife conservation projects.
While PAL has a long experience in flying animals, this is the first time a critically endangered species is receiving special treatment as they flew on today's Davao-Manila (PR2808) and Manila-Singapore (PR507) PAL flights.
This historic moment is now in the books where both Filipinos and Singaporeans wish that this loan program can help in the conservation of their species in the future.
It is now their turn to show the "Buong Pusong Alaga" service to these eagles.