Meet the Philippine Eagle Human Mates

FEATURE STORY

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/30 April) -- "Kee-a!" "Kee-a!" Piercing cries rend the early morning air as these magnificent but endangered Philippine Eagles (Pithecophaga Jefferyi) call out from their nesting chambers at the Philippine Eagle Center in Malagos, Calinan.
In the wild, these cries meant certain peril for the animal that these raptors had marked out as prey. Here at the Center, they signal the start of another working day for the animal keepers. Work begins at 7 a.m., as the animal keepers carry sprigs to the nesting chambers of their specific charges. This necessary activity is called socialization and is the contribution of the human surrogate mate to the eagles' preparations in nest building, for their breeding. This ritual is performed daily with the keepers spending an average of 25 to 30 minutes on each eagle. As the September to February breeding season goes underway, average time spent lengthens significantly. The Philippine Eagle, the country's national bird which aviator Charles Lindbergh described as "the world's noblest flier," is the top predator in the country's animal food chain. A nesting pair would need at least 127-133 sq. kms. Of forest hunting and nesting areas. When a forest system can sustain and feed these predators, it is an excellent indication that there is a healthy balance and interaction between the populations of the various animal species. It also indicates that there is ample forest cover to maintain the biodiversity of the animal kingdom and water supplies in that particular area.

Habitat loss
Today, despite a slew of laws to protect the world's only blue-eyed raptors, they remain on the world's critically endangered list. Habitat loss is the main reason for its decline, as well as evidence pointing to hunting for the death of the juveniles. These eagles breed once every two years, a very slow rate for a species whose young takes 5-6 years to become sexually mature. In 1982, the Philippine Eagle Foundation adapted the human surrogate mate as a management tool to propagate and maintain captive populations that will serve as genetic insurance for the dwindling population.
The Philippine Eagle Foundation uses cryptogenic equipment (donated by Caltex, Philippines), to freeze the eagle sperm. The animal keepers act as surrogate mates to stimulate breeding. They collect the sperm from the male eagles and insert this into the females. Success was first obtained in 1992, when the Foundation artificially inseminated eagle Diola with the semen of eagle Junior. The result was the hatching of Pag-asa (Hope) on January 15. Nine months later, on October 25, its sibling, Pagkakaisa (Unity) was born.

In 1999, Bayani was hatched, followed by Ellen Therese in 2000 of December. It is these two eaglets that are slated for release to the wild at the appropriate time.

Ten years after Pag-asa's birth, 10 eagles have been produced in the Center through artificial and natural means. Only one of the 10 -- the eaglet Mindanaw died (due to a congenital disease), a few hours after hatching in November 1995. Mindanaw was the first conceived out of a natural pair in captivity.

Pairing with eagles
Currently, the Philippine Eagle Foundation has seven animal keepers, and three of them work in direct contact with these raptors. All three keepers first began working in a different capacity, around 15 years ago at the Philippine Eagle Center, when it was first located at Baracatan, Toril.

The senior animal keeper is Eddie Juntilla, a robust 38 year old male, equipped with broad shoulders especially convenient for the male eagles to grip on to when mounting. Juntilla is fulltime surrogate mate to five eagles. As a male surrogate mate, he pairs up with eagles Pitha, Marikit and Kahayag. He holds the distinction of being the female surrogate mate
to the Foundation's two best known successes of the technique of cooperative artificial insemination -- Pag-asa and Pagkakaisa.

Then there is Ben Salazar, who became a surrogate mate in 1990. For the last ten years, Ben has been handling six eagles under his care. Unlike Eddie, however, Ben is surrogate mate to only two imprinted eagles with the remaining four under his care in a strictly caretaker capacity.

The third animal keeper is Eddie Dayos. He takes a direct hand in ensuring food stock, medical supplies and vehicle maintenance aside from handling the raptors. He takes on another critical aspect of the caretaker function. He handles eagles bred in the center but slated for release into the wild. This means the eaglets will not be imprinted. Of the three, Dayos is the one who is essentially handling wild creatures.

Before entering the chamber, the eagles' surrogate mates don gloves and a leather jacket. The leather jacket ensures protection from the sharp talons of the eagles, who perch on the keeper's shoulder to copulate.

But it is not just any leather jacket. Each eagle is assigned its own distinct jacket to enable the eagle to easily and instantly recognize its mate. For the surrogate animal keeper, it is imperative for them to be recognized and welcomed as it will minimize the danger of their being attacked. There is always the real danger of being killed.


Dedicated, Committed
Captive Breeding Director Doming Tadena attributes their very good work record to the fact that these men are dedicated and more, committed to the work they do. "You cannot, he says, work for 17 years on this job and not be committed. There are no immediately upward career moves in this line of work. You need to stay one hundred percent focused on the eagle. The work is stressful and you need to be alert on a daily basis to stay on guard. It also carries with it, mundane aspects: cleaning the cages and changing water pools year in and out."

Still nothing beats the security of work tenure if you are interested and love working with these dangerous birds of prey. As an eagle's keeper, you will have a long union as they are a long-lived species (70 years, recorded age of the Philippine Eagle). Yet, Eddie and the other keeper, Mang Ben Salazar never allow themselves to become overly confident even with their personal charges. Protocols or procedures are strictly adhered to in making contact with the birds. You must immediately establish eye contact with the eagle before you step into its chamber. You must maintain this eye contact the entire time you stay in its presence. The only time it is safe for you to turn your back on the eagle is when the bird is fully occupied with its meal. The eagles are fed once a day. During this time, the eagle gives its full attention to the meal, making this the optimum time for the surrogate mate animal keeper to clean the cage.

Don't help them pick up their food, Mang Ben cautions. He has reason to warn and remember. Years ago, he turned his back when he picked up the stray entrails of the food of his charge, Luyag, a non-productive female eagle. She had not been imprinted and, therefore, was slightly more dangerous. The result was disastrous for Mang Ben's hand as Luyag swooped down and grasped his hand with a sharp talon that went right through his palm, gorged out part of his inner thighs. He says remembering what happened still gives him the shakes.

Tender side
However, a tender side exists in these eagles, that surrogate mate though the animal keepers are, they appreciate. During the breeding season and only during the breeding season, the eagle keeps a portion of its meal for its mate and offers it to the animal keeper when he enters the nesting chambers. The rest of the year, the eagles are all wild, untamed predators. Though they have imprinted to their human animal keepers, these creatures still hear the call of the wild, to soar in the sky and hunt for their prey.

All three keepers had been working in the Center before they got married. So their wives had been conditioned to their husbands eating and sleeping at the Center for six days a week. Eddie's wife and three children view his work simply as Daddy's work. Eddie echoes the sentiments of the two other keepers when he intoned solemnly, "unless things change, the economy takes several turns for the worse, for example leading the Center to close up, I will still be working here five years from now."

"Kee-a!" Kee-a," the eagles' cries fill the air and signal the end of another working day at the Philippine Eagle Center in Malagos. (Mylene M. Suaco was the Philippine Eagle Foundation's
Communications officer from 2000 to early this year. Her two most memorable experiences with the Philippine Eagles are when she witnessed first hand the hatching of an eaglet at the Center and the feeding of a one-week old eaglet by its parent in the mountains of Arakan, North Cotabato).