Philippine Cockatoo Hatchling In Wild Shows Hope For Species

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Philippine Cockatoo Hatchling In Wild Shows Hope For Species

PHILIPPINE COCKATOO – Despite the threat to its dwindling numbers, a Philippine cockatoo recently successfully hatched an egg.

PHILIPPINE COCKATOO
SURVIVOR Gold, the Philippine cockatoo that has successfully hatched an offspring four years after it was rescued and nursed back to health, basks in the glow of sunlight in the wild of Palawan province. Habitat destruction and poaching have almost decimated the population of Philippine cockatoos, but climate change has posed the biggest threat to their survival. —PHOTO FROM KATALA FOUNDATION INC. | Image from: Inquirer

According to Inquirer, the egg was hatched by Gold, a Philippine cockatoo (Scientific name: Cacatua haematuropygia), who was rescued four years ago, has successfully hatched an egg.

The critically endangered bird was among the five hatchlings that were saved in the Dumaran Island Critical Habitat.

The Katala Foundation Inc.’s (KFI) Conservation Program for the bird found the young birds starving due to the lack of food amid the extremely dry months.

Named after the color of her leg band, Gold weighed less than 60 grams when she was rescued. This was half of the normal weight for a hatchling.

“To rescue hatchlings is a tough [decision] to make,”

This came from KFI species conservation program director Peter Widmann.

“The great challenge is releasing them back to the wild and monitoring whether they are accepted by the wild flock.”

Known as red-vented cockatoos or locally “katala”, the species used to be found all over the country’s lowland forests and mangroves. However, what caused their population to near-extinction was habitat destruction and poaching for pet trade.

Based on the report, these are also widely hunted, even for leisure, since some consider them agricultural pests.

There are about 1,000 Philippine cockatoos left in the wild, as of this posting, with 90 percent of the global population found in Palawan province. Nearly 75% are in four project sites of KFI in the province, with the largest in Rasa Island Wildlife Sanctuary.

What do you think of this report? How will you react to this? Let us know more about it in the comments below.

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