The Philippine Eagle-Owl (Bubo philippensis) is one of the largest species of owls in the world and is endemic only to the Philippines. It is also threatened and is listed in the Philippine Red Data book as an ENDANGERED specie.The NFEFI-BCC acquired 6 (3 males and 3 females) Philippine Eagle -Owls last November 2002 via breeding loan from Avilon Montalban Zoological Park (Rizal) through the Philippine Owls Conservation Program (POCP).
This program was agreed among the Department of Energy and Natural Resources-PAWB, World Owl Trust (WOT) and UK Owl Taxon Advisory Group (O-TAG) in 1998.
Out of the 6 owls, only 2 pairs were successfully bred in the BCC. One of these pairs started exhibiting breeding behavior late last year. The pair attempted to breed twice earlier this year during the months of June-July and August-September respectively, but failed.
The pair again attempted to breed last October where an egg was discovered in the nest on October 13, which the female incubated. On November 21, the egg hatched. The first 21 days of the owlet's life is very crucial though especially because the parents are inexperienced and this is the first time they are rearing a chick. The owlet is being monitored carefully to ensure its survival, but it is apparently healthy and growing very fast.
The breeding of the Philippine Eagle-Owl at NFEFI-BCC is by far the world's first and only successful breeding of this species in captivity. Nothing is virtually known about its breeding biology and we are collecting as much observations as possible so we can understand this species more.
2 comments:
Hi Michele. I recently went to Avilon Zoo and saw the Philippine Eagle Owl with its two eyelids. Cool! I created a link to your post. If you wanna check it out---
http://www.thebachelorgirl.com/2006/407/chuckles-30—-double-peek-a-boo-philippine-eagle-owl/
Great!
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