By The Straits Times | Created at 2025-01-17 14:20:16 | Updated at 2025-01-17 20:45:39
6 hours ago
SINGAPORE - In a first, 10 critically endangered Negros bleeding-heart pigeons were turned over on Jan 16 to the Philippines by Singapore’s Mandai Wildlife Group.
The pigeon – so called because of a vivid red or orange patch of plumage on its breast that resembles a puncture wound – is endemic to the Philippines.
There are only 70 to 400 left in the central Philippine island provinces of Panay and Negros, according to the conservation group Birdlife International.
The pigeons were once thriving in the 19th century, but had become extremely rare by the 1930s. Habitat loss due to deforestation nearly decimated their population.
Panay and Negros have lost nearly all their primary forests to industrial-scale farming, housing development, and timber and charcoal burning.
The impact of hunting, including for the live bird trade, led to a further population decline in recent decades.
To save the Negros bleeding-heart pigeon from extinction, the Philippines sent three breeding pairs to Singapore in 2021.
This was done via a captive breeding programme overseen by Mandai Wildlife Group, the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and the Talarak Foundation-Negros Forest Park.
That programme led to the 10 pigeons that are now in the Philippines, the first birds to successfully breed at Bird Paradise.
They are currently under the care of Talarak Foundation in Bacolod City, in Negros Occidental.
More work ahead
“This milestone is part of ongoing conservation efforts aimed at restoring wild populations and securing the future of these birds in Negros and Panay,” Mandai Wildlife Group said in a Facebook post on Jan 17.
A special event was held to celebrate the pigeons’ safe arrival in the Philippines, attended by Singapore’s Ambassador to the Philippines Constance See, Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, as well as representatives from Mandai Wildlife Group, the Philippine Environment Ministry and Talarak Foundation.
Mr Lacson said in a statement the breeding programme’s success “underscores the importance of commitment, collaboration, and hope for the preservation of Negros Occidental’s critically endangered wildlife”.
But he added there was more work to be done.
“The survival of the Negros bleeding-heart pigeon relies not only on breeding programmes but also on collective efforts in reforestation, conservation education and community engagement,” he said.
It was reported in August 2024 that Singapore and the Philippines were holding talks to airlift a male Philippine eagle – also critically endangered – to Singapore “to establish a breeding pair” with a female that is already under the care of Mandai Wildlife Group.
Only about 800 Philippine eagles are left in the wild today, with 32 kept in breeding centres.
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