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.