Singapore shows off two endangered eagles loaned from Philippines
- The Philippine Eagle is one of the world’s biggest and most powerful birds with wingspans that can reach two metres. There are about 800 left in the wild
- The birds, named Geothermica and Sambisig, are the first breeding pair ever to be sent outside the Philippines. They arrived in Singapore in June
Destruction of tropical rainforest and relentless hunting have decimated the population of the Philippine Eagle – one of the world’s biggest and most powerful birds with wingspans that can reach two metres – with only around 800 believed left in the wild, conservationists say.
The birds, Geothermica and Sambisig, are the first breeding pair ever to be sent outside the Philippines and arrived in Singapore in June on a 10-year loan from Manila.
The creatures are being cared for at the city state’s main aviary and were shown to the media on Wednesday, as part of events marking 50 years of diplomatic relations between the countries.
“Any future offspring of the eagles will be returned to the Philippines to contribute to the sustainability of the species’ population,” said Wildlife Reserves Singapore, which runs the aviary.
The scheme has echoes of China’s “panda diplomacy”, which sees the Asian giant send the black and white bears to countries as gifts.
