Bird of Prey

A Reaction Paper

The movie Bird of Prey, an extraordinary documentary about the Philippine eagle is raising
awareness and instilling deeper understanding on why people have to save the rarest eagle on the
world. Watching this movie will make the viewers the importance of the Philippine eagles not just
to the Philippines, but especially to the world.

In the movie, a whole six month journey of a Philippine eagle starting from when it was
still a chick with its parents feeding it until it could fly on its own was shown beautifully. Also,
the story of how the Philippine eagles became almost extinct was also narrated. It was sad to know
that before, many Philippine eagles can be found flying and interacting with people but because of
large-scale habitat loss from commercial logging in the late 19th century the Philippine eagles are
now on the brink of extinction with only less than 400 breeding pairs left in the wild.

Honestly, when I was a child I already know that Philippine eagle is our national bird and
it can only be found in the Philippines. I also know that they are endangered but I didn’t know that
there are fewer than 400 pairs of them left on the wild. Watching the documentary film made me
aware of what the real situation is. I couldn’t help but think of the words that were said by Mr.
Perry Ong in the movie, “If we lose the Philippine Eagle here in the Philippines, then the whole
world loses”. The Philippine eagles may only be found herein our country but they are property
of the world. That’s why I think everyone should help in conserving and protecting the birds of
prey for the next generations to still be able to witness the majestic Philippine eagle.

As a biology student, this film made me want to pursue Wildlife major and specialize in
Ornithology because I believe that nature needs all the help it can get and it is my small way of
paying back to our country. Also, I still want the future generation to have the majestic Philippine
eagle flying in the wild. With this, I want to help the Philippine Eagle Foundation and other
organizations in conserving and protecting wildlife organisms especially those endemic to our
country.