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.