A rare Philippine Eagle Owl egg hatched recently at the Negros Forests and Ecological Foundation's Biodiversity Conservation Center in Bacolod City , NFEFI trustee Robert Harland said yesterday.

This is the third successful hatching of an owlet (Bubo p. philippensis) at the center, he said.

NFEFI-BCC holds the world record for the first successful captive breeding of a Philippine Eagle Owl named “Bubo” in 2005.

The latest owlet hatched on Oct. 28 after 35 days of incubation. The bird's parents, named Mahinhin and Hinahon, are currently the species' only breeding pair in the world.

They are in Bacolod as part of a breeding loan program run in association with the Avilon Montalban Zoological Park and Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau Wildlife Rescue Centre, with the support of Flora and Fauna International and the World Owl Trust, he said.

"We are thrilled to see another owlet", said NFEFI-BCC curator Dr. DJ Darwin Bandoy said. "The mother laid an egg in August, but it did not survive. But there were no problems with the latest egg and the new arrival is healthy and growing well."

The critically endangered Philippine Eagle Owl is endemic to the Philippines but is restricted to the islands of Luzon , Mindanao , Samar , Leyte and Bohol .

NFEFI-BCC welcomes support from concerned citizens, Bandoy said.

If any individual, group or school would like to contribute to the upkeep of the new owlet or would like to be a member of NFEFI, they can call Tel. No. 433-9234, Harland said.*

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