Sunday, December 02, 2007

The Philippine Eagle Center, Davao City

The extended weekend brought me to the largest City of the Philippines in terms of land area. Davao City is known as the City of orchids and durian and of course, the home of the country's most famous avian - Pag-asa, a monkey-eating eagle.

My first stop therefore is to see Pag-asa and other Philippine Eagle at The Philippine Eagle Center. Nestled at the foothills of the majestic Mount Apo, the Philippine Eagle Center is the Philippine Eagle Foundation's facility for the care and propagation of the endangered Philippine Eagle. The center is a captive-breeding facility designed to help increase the eagle's number, thereby avoiding extinction.

Primarily a research facility, the Center is also a vital education venue and a key tourist attraction where visitors are given a glimpse of the country's forest ecosystem. It is located in Malagos, a 45 min drive from the city center. Aside from being a temporary home for the eagles, it also hosts other animals that are native to Davao's dwindling forest like deers, wild pigs, crocodile, monkeys and other birds.




Although tourists visit the place to see the Philippine eagles, the center also is a home to a number of other birds such as White-Breasted Sea Eagle, Owl Eagles and Lawin (see above pic) and an extravagant display of ornamental floras too.

Guests have a chance to appreciate the beauty of the rainforest through walking in the guided trail. On some days, visitors are even allowed to interact closely with various wildlife.


Undoubtedly, the Center's main attraction is the Philippine Eagle formerly known as Monkey-Eating Eagle. They can reach the height of 3 feet and have a wingspan of 7 feet. They have massive arched beak and long crown feathers. They have blue eyes that can see eight times the distance than that of humans. They are reputedly the largest eagle in the world. The Center houses almost thirty Philippine Eagles which includes Pag-Asa (first pic above) and Pangarap (pic below).




In this trip, among my companions were my office mate and assistant Carmi and her hubby. See them reenact their wedding pose in this pic:


Here are some more pics of the animals and great views in the park (monkeys, crocodile and bird cages). I wonder, do the monkey-eating eagle feed on these monkeys?:



Lastly, I promised Jen, our guide, that I will post this. The Philippine Eagles are critically endangered. The Philippine Eagle Foundation is dedicated to run this facility dedicated to saving the endangered Philippine Eagle and its rainforest habitat. However, they need our help for the proper upkeep and maintenance of the the Center. We can help not only by donating money but also by volunteering our time and talent in various field works, administrative works and other special events.

For further details please call them at +63 82 224 3021 or e-mail them at phileagl@pldtdsl.net. Or better yet check-out their website by clicking here.


More of Davao on my next posts.

23 comments:

  1. How far is Davao from Manila?

    I guess it's only there we are able to see the Philippine Eagle?

    (:

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  2. Off topic; Whitney was still as good as she was before the drug issue. And she said she'd be coming back with a new album next year.

    :D

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  3. @ kyels - from Manila, Davao City is about 1 and a half hour by plane (PAL or Cebu Pacific). Then from the City Proper, the Eagle Center is about 30 minutes by car.

    The Philippine Eagle can only be found on the islands of Luzon, Samar, Leyte and Mindanao but it is only in Davao City where these eagles undergo captive breeding.


    off topic: it is always nice to see people rise from where they fall. i really hope she recovers.

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  4. Nice initiative!
    I hope they can get the necessary support:funds to maintain their center.

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  5. I always wanted to see the Philippine Eagle live. Swerte mo naman.

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  6. great eagles! they should take good care of it..

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  7. @ sidney - i do hope too. these eagles are really our pride.

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  8. @ nina - if you find time, go for it, you will be amazed on how big and regal they really are.

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  9. @ juz - yeah, and we should also do our part on saving them. a simple visit to the center means you have already contributed. have a nice day.

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  10. Ayus to Norman, good thing natuloy yung trip mo dyan. The place looks great! I hope I could visit it as well one of these days and see our Phil Eagle with my own eyes

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  11. I love Davao. I hope you feature Eden's Nature Park in your next post. Salamat sa pagdaan sa site.

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  12. Para na rin akong sumama sa pasyal mo diyan. Nice photos and very detailed travel story... Thanx for sharing...

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  13. Another good travel Mr. Lawstude. Nice pics too.

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  14. @ Ferdz - my flight was delayed for 3 hours and we arrived at Davao City at around 6 pm so the planned City Tour was postponed.

    A day after, the Trillanes news broke out. But you know what? Davao has a wait and see attitude on it so it never really got affected by the whole thing.

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  15. @ abad - i loved eden nature park so i think i just might do two posts on it soon.

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  16. @ dodong flores - salamat din sa pag-dalaw, i try my best to improve my posts, ang dami lang din talagang trabaho kaya minsan ang dami ko naooverlook na errors.

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  17. this is a place i've yet to explore even if i've been to davao twice

    btw, would like to link up my main blog (travel blog) besides my paetechie one that you've already linked to.

    thanks

    tutubi living in philippines

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  18. Ganon din ako. Maraming trabaho kaya I can't find sufficient time to update my blog. Plus, wala pa akong internet connection.

    By the way, I wonder if you can spare more time posting nice Philippine photos in a photography enthusiasts community. Gusto sana kita imbitahan sa My Islands Philippines. If you have time, you can post your travel photos around the country. This is the link to the site: http://www.myislandsphilippines.net. Regular poster din kasi ako doon. Maraming salamat.

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  19. @ tutubi - if you have time, check it out on your third visit, you won't regret it. linked you up bro.

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  20. @ dodong flores - checked the link and registered. nalilito lang ako on how to upload pics but i will upload pics very soon there. thanx.

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  21. Yes, I saw that you register. Take your time. I'll see you there soon :D

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  22. For those in Metro Manila who wanted to see the Philippine eagle.

    You can go to UPLB about 2 hours drive from Manila, where the Center for Philippine Raptors is located, near the foot of Mount Makiling. You can also find other raptors which are endemic to the Philippines. They are not many as the eagles in Davao but you can see them there.

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