



Learn about



Read article "Watch an endangered eagle chick grow up in rare video." January 16, 2019 - The Philippine eagle is one of the world's largest and rarest birds of prey. Fewer than 900 adults remain on just four Philippine islands. It took four weeks of searching, seven filming platforms, and five months, to capture this rare, intimate look at a Philippine eagle nest. Philippine eagle pairs mate for life and produce just one egg every two years. See how eagle parents feed and care for an eaglet, and watch the eaglet learn to fly, in this close-up look at a nest.Learn about the Philippine Eagle Foundation's efforts to save the critically endangered species, and see more footage from the feature film Bird of Prey , for which the footage was filmed.

1

00:00:01,150 --> 00:00:03,480

- [Narrator] The Philippine

Eagle is one of the world's



2

00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:06,023

largest and rarest birds of prey.



3

00:00:09,980 --> 00:00:12,540

A critically endangered species,



4

00:00:12,540 --> 00:00:15,280

fewer than 900 adults remain



5

00:00:15,280 --> 00:00:17,483

on just four Philippine islands.



6

00:00:21,520 --> 00:00:23,580

A top predator of the forest,



7

00:00:23,580 --> 00:00:27,643

the eagle's hunting range can

cover up to 40 square miles.



8

00:00:31,660 --> 00:00:33,380

But much of the Philippine forests



9

00:00:33,380 --> 00:00:35,943

have disappeared since the 1600's.



10

00:00:37,490 --> 00:00:39,830

Due to logging and human encroachment,



11

00:00:39,830 --> 00:00:43,623

less than 25% of

historical forest remains.



12

00:00:47,400 --> 00:00:51,010

Conservation groups, like the

Philippine Eagle Foundation,



13

00:00:51,010 --> 00:00:53,120

are studying the eagle's behaviors



14

00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:55,423

in an effort to save the species.



15

00:00:58,230 --> 00:01:02,070

It took four weeks of searching,

seven filming platforms



16

00:01:02,070 --> 00:01:05,520

and five months to capture

this rare, intimate look



17

00:01:05,520 --> 00:01:07,210

at a Philippine Eagle nest.



18

00:01:09,112 --> 00:01:11,945

(eagle screeches)



19

00:01:14,890 --> 00:01:16,910

Within the rainforest canopy,



20

00:01:16,910 --> 00:01:19,210

this young eagle is beginning its life



21

00:01:19,210 --> 00:01:21,343

under the watchful care of its parents.



22

00:01:23,750 --> 00:01:26,210

Philippine Eagle pairs mate for life



23

00:01:26,210 --> 00:01:29,473

and produce just one egg every two years.



24

00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:34,990

Both parents work together

to raise the chick,



25

00:01:34,990 --> 00:01:37,593

sharing the hunting and feeding duties.



26

00:01:42,680 --> 00:01:46,530

The parents deliver meals of

snakes, birds and mammals,



27

00:01:46,530 --> 00:01:49,963

such as flying lemurs,

several times per week.



28

00:01:55,480 --> 00:01:59,233

At around six weeks old, the

eaglet is learning new skills.



29

00:02:02,670 --> 00:02:05,890

By about two months old, its soft down



30

00:02:05,890 --> 00:02:07,713

is replaced with feathers.



31

00:02:10,700 --> 00:02:15,083

And soon, it develops its

iconic mane-like crest.



32

00:02:20,700 --> 00:02:25,700

Now 15 weeks old, the eaglet

stretches and flaps its wings,



33

00:02:26,330 --> 00:02:28,463

practicing for its first flight.



34

00:02:34,170 --> 00:02:36,900

Eaglets fledge, or first leave the nest



35

00:02:36,900 --> 00:02:38,683

around five months of age.



36

00:02:40,970 --> 00:02:43,500

But the parents continue

providing for the young



37

00:02:43,500 --> 00:02:46,163

for another 18 months.



38

00:02:52,570 --> 00:02:55,860

The juvenile takes bigger and

bigger leaps near the nest



39

00:02:55,860 --> 00:02:57,283

as it learns to fly ...



40

00:03:00,980 --> 00:03:02,853

but not without some tumbles.



41

00:03:07,810 --> 00:03:10,670

Philippine Eagles often

reuse their nest sites



42

00:03:10,670 --> 00:03:15,670

each mating season, making

deforestation in nesting areas



43

00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:18,353

a threat to the species survival.



44

00:03:20,740 --> 00:03:23,720

Community based efforts

to protect nesting sites



45

00:03:23,720 --> 00:03:25,400

and enforce poaching laws,



46

00:03:25,400 --> 00:03:27,653

are showing some promising results.



47

00:03:30,940 --> 00:03:35,100

While the Philippine Eagle

remains critically endangered,



48

00:03:35,100 --> 00:03:38,563

each successful fledgling

brings new possibility.



49

00:03:39,459 --> 00:03:42,376

(orchestral music)