Two rare eagles hatched in RP

Two rare eagles hatched in RP

MANILA (AFP): Two rare monkey-eating eagles have been hatched
in captivity in the past two months, using an innovative breeding
technique, a local newspaper reported here on Thursday.

The first eaglet was hatched on Dec. 23 and the second on Feb.
12, both of the same parents, the Philippine Daily Inquirer
reported, quoting officials of the Philippine Eagle Foundation, a
private agency working to preserve the endangered species.

Normally the monkey-eating eagle, also known as the Philippine
eagle, breeds only once every two years, but by using a technique
called "double-clutching" a pair of birds can be induced to breed
twice in one year in order to produce more than one egg, the
report said.

The monkey-eating eagle is found only in the Philippines and
is on the verge of extinction due to hunting and the destruction
of its habitat. There are only about 17 of the birds in captivity
and less than 200 are known to exist.