Thirty-five critically endangered Philippine eagles (Pithecophaga jefferyi) underwent a three-day annual physical check-up, marking the largest number in the past 20 years, and had their DNA included in an international genome project at the Philippine Eagle Center (PEC) in Barangay Malagos, Davao City. 

The majority of the Philippine eagles in the facility are rescued raptors that were either shot or victims of trapping in the wild while 17 were born and raised in the PEC. 

Jayson Ibañez, director for Operations of the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF), said the increased number reflects the fact that they rescued many Philippine eagles during the pandemic. 

Ibañez explained that the annual physical check-up for the Philippine eagles is the only means to know the overall health status of each bird. 

“Apart from basic body condition parameters such as weight, feather number, and its status, the presence and absence of ectoparasites, among others, we also do blood and swab assays to test exposure to diseases such as Aspergilloses, Avian Flu, and New Castles Disease screening,” said Ibañez. 

The annual check-ups were conducted over three nights: first on February 8, then on February 11, and the last on February 13. The final batch focused on the eight birds that were to be transferred to the new breeding facility in Barangay Eden in Davao City.

“We want to be certain that our eagles are healthy, safe, disease-free. With the common noises, human noises common around the facility, we want to know that despite these human disturbances, our birds are still doing well amid the stressors present in the area,” Ibanez said. 

He added that what makes this particular procedure exciting is the collection of blood samples, which will be sent to their partners at the California Academy of Sciences (CAS) for the first genome mapping of the Philippine eagle as part of an international effort to map the eagle's genes. 

“This has never been attempted before, and I believe this would be the first for any threatened species in the Philippines,” Ibañez said.