Bird Conservation in the Philippines (on the island of Negros)

Photo: Prague Zoo

In efforts to protect many endangered species in the Philippines, an important role is played by the NFEFI-BCC (Negros Forests and Ecological Foundation Inc. – Biodiversity Conservation Center), which is found on the island of Negros. Prague Zoo has therefore begun to collaborate with this center. At first, this just involved a project to save the Philippine eagle-owl, which is endemic to the Philippines and whose numbers continue to decrease in the wild. Later, other bird species were included. Today, Prague Zoo helps protect no fewer than three species of the Philippine avifauna.

• The Philippine Eagle-owl (Bubo philippensis)
• The Philippine Scops-owl (Otus megalotis)
• The Visayan Tarictic Hornbill (Penelopides panini panini)
  

The NFEFI-BCC monitors the natural habitats of all these species and carries out awareness-raising work among the local population. It is also establishing a captive reserve population of the Philippine eagle-owl and the Visayan tarictic hornbill; other reserve populations of some of these species are emerging in Prague Zoo. We are, among other things, the first zoo in Europe to exhibit the Philippine Scops-owl, one subspecies of which is seriously endangered in the wild. The creation of reserve populations provides necessary insurance against any future crisis in wild populations. If any such crisis should strike, captive-bred birds could be reintroduced into the wild in suitable localities.  

The NFEFI-BCC is the only facility in the world to breed Philippine eagle-owls, the initial focus of the project. It has been pursuing the project to rescue this bird species since as early as 1995, and by 2012 it had successfully bred 12 owlets. Prague Zoo, which joined the project in 2007, has used the funds raised by the ‘A Crown from Admission’ scheme to financially support the building of a new breeding facility at the station on the island of Negros and remains involved in its maintenance and further expansion.