‘Bird of Prey’ Raises Awareness for the Philippine Eagle

The Philippine’s national bird featured in its own documentary film, Bird of Prey today at the first Vancouver International Bird Festival, together with the 27th International Ornithological Congress. The film, which is on its twelfth screening worldwide, follows 6-time Emmy Award winning cinematographer Neil Rettig and his expedition to the Philippines. Joining him are documentary filmmakers Skip Hobbie and Eric Liner, as well as a team from the Philippine Eagle Foundation. Together, they embark on a journey up the slopes of Mt. Apo to find the elusive raptors and answer the question of how to brink it back from the brink of extinction.

Bird of Prey: the Story of the Rarest Eagle on Earth

The Philippine eagle is as majestic as it is elusive, with an elegant crest of feathers and piercing steel-blue eyes. They possess surprising levels of mental capacity as well as emotional intelligence. They are very critical in choosing their mates, almost always selecting one partner for life.

Filipinos identify with the Philippine eagle in more ways than one. Its great wings symbolize the freedom the nation’s ancestors spilled their blood to protect. Its solitary life echoes independence. The crest of feathers on its head represents pride, thus earning it the nickname “king bird.” But while it is among the largest birds in the world both in size and spirit, it is also among the rarest. Encroachment and illegal logging constantly threaten the avian king’s home. Meanwhile, the bird itself is threatened by illegal poaching activities. Currently, fewer than 800 of these raptors remain in the wild. And it is this story that Bird of Prey hopes to tell.

The Vanishing Kings

The Philippine eagle is not the first raptor to be threatened with extinction. The South Island of New Zealand was once home to a massive raptor known as the Pouakai. Thought to have grown to up to 16.5 kg in mass, this giant fed almost exclusively on large flightless moa. Sadly, the last of its kind died around 1400, when the local population hunted their food source to extinction. And this is the fate that echoes in the tale of our national bird. Like the Pouakai, the Philippine eagle finds itself competing against humans for resources it needs to survive.

Today, the Philippine eagle is a protected animal. Poachers found guilty of killing one of these birds can face up to 12 years in prison. Even so, government agencies tasked with its protection, particularly the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources experience constant difficulty in monitoring the eagle’s habitat. PEF Executive Director Dennis Salvador has in the past, expressed a desire to send eagles to zoos around the world as a failsafe measure. But to date, no such program has been initiated by the DENR.

Fighting Back from the Brink

Thankfully, all is not lost. the PEF spearheads attempts to protect the endangered species. Its adoption programs are largely successful. In addition, PEF extends the reach of its programs by integrating the local communities of Davao. An excellent example is the setting up of an almaciga resin enterprise. This increases the value of the forest lands, and encourages preservation efforts in the interest of the local communities and tribes.

And of course, international aid is an important weapon in fighting back the threat to these birds. PEF is currently hosting an exhibit at the IOC 2018, where Bird of Prey screened. The publicity offered by the film brings the eagles’ plight back into view, in a day and age where people come close to forgetting that we aren’t the only ones to share this world.