A 2018 Mongabay report cited an estimate of as many as 1,900 pairs of Philippine eagles in 1910, against as few as 400 pairs at that time. As of November 2026, about 400 pairs are estimated to be left in the wild. The Philippine Eagle Foundation's 2023 study estimated that the forests could support an average of 392 pairs. That estimate came from a habitat model and the home range size of tracked eagles, not from counting every eagle. According to National Geographic in 2019, the Philippines has lost almost 75 percent of its forests since the start of the 20th century.
In 2009 a captive-bred male and a rehabilitated female were released together on Mt. Kitanglad, with a satellite transmitter on one bird. At the time of that release, experts believed just two active breeding pairs lived in the 31,297 hectare Mt. Kitanglad protected area. Rescued Philippine eagles are cared for and set free again when they are healthy. A program to save the eagle began in 1969.
A rehabilitated female eagle named Mal'lambugok, released with a solar-powered GPS tracker, flew over rivers, farms and grasslands but stayed inside small forest patches near settlements, like 14 other released eagles monitored since 2008. A GPS transmitter helps track a young eagle's larger movements, while a radio transmitter helps field teams find him nearby. Scientists said they would use tracking of a juvenile eagle released in Davao de Oro in 2026 to follow his flight range, territory dispersal and survival as he became independent.
In Davao de Oro, scientists used a habitat model that found 28,986 hectares of suitable eagle habitat in Maragusan, and then found an active nest in 2025 that they said proved the model was correct. A Philippine eagle nest sits 27 to 50 meters above the ground. A mother lays only one egg at a time, and Philippine eagles reach adulthood at 5 to 7 years of age. Both parents protect and feed the chick for 7 to 8 weeks.
Words to know
- rehabilitated: nursed back
- transmitter: tracker device
- juvenile: young animal
- habitat: natural home
- dispersal: moving away
