MANILA, May 20 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines signed on Monday a wildlife agreement with Singapore that paves the way for the country to loan a pair of male and female Philippine eagles to the city-state, a move that Philippine officials hope will help preserve one of the rarest eagles in the world.

The Philippine eagle, also known as the monkey-eating eagle, is a giant bird of prey that can only be seen in four islands in the Philippines -- in the main Luzon island, Samar and Leyte provinces in the central Philippines, and Mindanao island in the southern Philippines. It is considered to be one of the largest and most powerful among forest raptors.

Philippine Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu announced the wildlife loan agreement is signed between the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) of the Philippines and Wildlife Reserve Singapore (WRS) took place on Monday.

Under the 10-year renewable agreement, the Philippines will ship 15-year-old male eagle named Geothermica and 17-year-old female eagle named Sambisig to the Jurong Bird Park in Singapore on June 4. The eagles will be shown to the public at Asia's largest bird park in July.

Cimatu said Geothermica and Sambisig will play a crucial role as ambassadors for Philippine biodiversity once they are brought to Jurong Bird Park being operated by WRS.

Aside from breeding and the display of the birds, he said Singapore will also collaborate with the Philippines on preserving the eagles.

Cimatu said the eagle is "very near extinction" and needs to be protected and preserved. Singapore has experts who can help in looking after the eagles, he added.

The agreement also said the birds and their offspring will remain owned by the Philippine government. However, their chicks can be sent back to the Philippines, while the parents might stay longer in Singapore, the agreement added.

The two eagles were bred in captivity at the Philippines Eagle Center in Davao City. Both are under the care of the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF).

The PEF said the eagles can live up to 40 plus years in captivity but probably much less in the wild. However, it said it takes five to seven years for the eagles to sexually mature. "It only lays a single egg every two years. They wait for their offspring to make it on their own - usually within two years - before producing another offspring," the foundation said.

The PEF has produced 28 captive-bred eagles at the Philippine Eagle Center, which includes Geothermica and Sambisig. Enditem

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