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Kabayan's first hunted meal: a flying lizard
(with photo of Kabayan up a tree)
by Keith Bacongco MindaNews
MT. APO, Kidapawan City (MindaNews/28 April) - At last!
Kabayan, the first captive Philippine Eagle released from his cage here
last Thursday, Earth Day, finally made his first "hunting attempt" at
around 5:30 this afternoon, preying on a flying lizard locally known as
ambobokad.
Kabayan, however, ignored the two guinea pigs that the Philippine Eagle
Foundation (PEF) monitoring team here placed on a tree near where he
perched, to bait him into hunting them down.
The flying lizard or ambobokad measures around six to eight inches. It
is a
very small prey for an eagle known to eat bigger preys such as monkeys,
flying lemurs and civets.
Domingo Tadena, Deputy Executive Director of the Philippine Eagle, told
MindaNews young eagles usually start to hunt bugs, beetles, lizards as
they
are still learning to develop their ability to catch a bigger prey.
Tadena said what Kabayan did was more of a "hunting attempt."
But Tadena acknowledged that Kabayan, at 17 months, is strong enough to
hunt a bigger prey like monkeys. The Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga
Jefferyi), is known for hunting bigger preys.
Kabayan's hunting capability, however, is not similar to a 17-month old
eagle in the wild. For 17 months, he didn't have to hunt for food as he
was
fed in a cage -- 16 months at the Philippine Eagle Center in Malagos,
Davao
City and three weeks at the hack box or cage up here.
In Davao City, PEF Executive Director Dennis Salvador told MindaNews
that
based on reports from Mt. Apo, the "description does not fit normal
feeding
behavior. That does not discount the fact that there may, indeed be
hunting
attempts. It could be taking small prey but to survive, it has to take
larger prey such as flying lemur or civets."
Kabayan had not been to a forest setting until March 31, when he was
transferred to a cage at the Philippine National Oil Company's (PNOC)
Site
B here, prior to his actual release into the wild on April 22.
Ramil Cabuyao, a trail guide of the PNOC, said Kabayan gobbled up the
lizard at around 5:30 p.m., near Site C1 of the PNOC.
The hunting site is 3.5 kilometers from where Kabayan's cage was.
The monitoring team followed Kabayan's flight from Site B up to the
vicinity of Site C1 this morning. The team stayed until late afternoon
when
Kabayan finally flew up to another area.
But two PNOC guides, including Cabuyao, walked around until they spotted
the eagle up a tree, swiftly moving to catch his prey and flying on to
the
next tree.
"Murag hit and run," (It was like a hit and run thing), said Cabuyao.
Tadena said two other guinea pigs were also placed in another nearby
area
as bait for Kabayan to hunt. The guinea pigs were used as bait this
morning, since Kabayan had not hunted food since his release. (Keith
Bacongco with a report from Carolyn O. Arguillas /MindaNews)
Kabayan's first hunted meal: a flying lizard
(with photo of Kabayan up a tree)
by Keith Bacongco MindaNews
MT. APO, Kidapawan City (MindaNews/28 April) - At last!
Kabayan, the first captive Philippine Eagle released from his cage here
last Thursday, Earth Day, finally made his first "hunting attempt" at
around 5:30 this afternoon, preying on a flying lizard locally known as
ambobokad.
Kabayan, however, ignored the two guinea pigs that the Philippine Eagle
Foundation (PEF) monitoring team here placed on a tree near where he
perched, to bait him into hunting them down.
The flying lizard or ambobokad measures around six to eight inches. It
is a
very small prey for an eagle known to eat bigger preys such as monkeys,
flying lemurs and civets.
Domingo Tadena, Deputy Executive Director of the Philippine Eagle, told
MindaNews young eagles usually start to hunt bugs, beetles, lizards as
they
are still learning to develop their ability to catch a bigger prey.
Tadena said what Kabayan did was more of a "hunting attempt."
But Tadena acknowledged that Kabayan, at 17 months, is strong enough to
hunt a bigger prey like monkeys. The Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga
Jefferyi), is known for hunting bigger preys.
Kabayan's hunting capability, however, is not similar to a 17-month old
eagle in the wild. For 17 months, he didn't have to hunt for food as he
was
fed in a cage -- 16 months at the Philippine Eagle Center in Malagos,
Davao
City and three weeks at the hack box or cage up here.
In Davao City, PEF Executive Director Dennis Salvador told MindaNews
that
based on reports from Mt. Apo, the "description does not fit normal
feeding
behavior. That does not discount the fact that there may, indeed be
hunting
attempts. It could be taking small prey but to survive, it has to take
larger prey such as flying lemur or civets."
Kabayan had not been to a forest setting until March 31, when he was
transferred to a cage at the Philippine National Oil Company's (PNOC)
Site
B here, prior to his actual release into the wild on April 22.
Ramil Cabuyao, a trail guide of the PNOC, said Kabayan gobbled up the
lizard at around 5:30 p.m., near Site C1 of the PNOC.
The hunting site is 3.5 kilometers from where Kabayan's cage was.
The monitoring team followed Kabayan's flight from Site B up to the
vicinity of Site C1 this morning. The team stayed until late afternoon
when
Kabayan finally flew up to another area.
But two PNOC guides, including Cabuyao, walked around until they spotted
the eagle up a tree, swiftly moving to catch his prey and flying on to
the
next tree.
"Murag hit and run," (It was like a hit and run thing), said Cabuyao.
Tadena said two other guinea pigs were also placed in another nearby
area
as bait for Kabayan to hunt. The guinea pigs were used as bait this
morning, since Kabayan had not hunted food since his release. (Keith
Bacongco with a report from Carolyn O. Arguillas /MindaNews)
