Philippine Eagle Foundation introduces new hatchling Riley
The Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) proudly introduced a brand-new addition to its family: a precious Philippine eagle chick named Riley.
Riley, or Chick no. 31, was born on January 16 as the offspring of eagles Sinag and Dakila.
In case you didn't know, Sinag is the Philippine eagle that was featured on the new P1,000 peso bill.
In 2018, Sinag was the youngest captive-bred Philippine eagle at the Philippine Eagle Center in Davao City. As per PEF, his kind is actually "one of the rarest and largest birds of prey in the world. "
Meanwhile, Dakila has been dubbed one of PEF's promising female Philippine Eagles as she has "been active in breeding with her keeper as her surrogate mate."
According to PEF, Riley’s hatching is the first-ever documented unassisted natural hatching.
As the hatchling grows stronger, she will be transferred to a bigger nest tomorrow to accommodate her size.
The Philippine eagle is the largest forest raptor in the Philippines and the country's national bird.
Likewise, PEF said that it is one of the rarest eagles in the world, and it can only be seen on four islands in the country: Luzon, Samar, Leyte, and Mindanao.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature also lists them as "critically endangered," with an estimated 400 pairs left in the wild.
