絶滅危惧種フィリピンワシ、シンガポールで披露　国外での繁殖目指す

【シンガポールＡＦＰ＝時事】シンガポールは27日、フィリピンから借り受けた同国固有の希少な猛禽（もうきん）類、フィリピンワシのつがいを公開した。フィリピンワシは絶滅危惧種に指定されており、貸し出しは個体数回復を目指す繁殖プログラムの一環。2羽はシンガポールのジュロン野鳥公園で飼育される。（写真はシンガポールのジュロン野鳥公園で飼育される雄のフィリピンワシ「ジェオテルミカ」）
　フィリピンワシは開いた翼の先端から先端までの長さが２メートルに達し、世界屈指の大きさと力の強さを誇る鳥だが、熱帯雨林の破壊や狩猟によって生息数が激減。保全専門家によれば、野生の生息数は８００羽前後と考えられている。
　雄のジェオテルミカと雌のサンビシは国外に送られた初めてのつがい。１０年間の期限付きで今年６月からシンガポールに貸し出されている。
　お披露目は、シンガポールのビビアン・バラクリシュナン外相、フィリピンのリカルド・カルデロン環境次官補の立ち会いの下、ジュロン野鳥公園で行われた。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2019/11/28-10:40）

Singapore showed off two critically-endangered eagles Wednesday that were loaned from the Philippines as part of a breeding programme to reverse the dwindling numbers of the feathered giants.
Destruction of tropical rainforest and relentless hunting have decimated the population of the Philippine Eagle -- one of the world's biggest and most powerful birds whose wingspan can reach 2 metres (7 feet) -- with only around 800 believed left in the wild, conservationists say.
The birds, Geothermica and Sambisig, are the first breeding pair ever to be sent outside the Philippines and arrived in Singapore in June on a 10-year loan from Manila.
The creatures are being cared for at the city-state's main aviary and were shown to the media Wednesday, as part of events marking 50 years of diplomatic relations between the countries.
Any future offspring of the eagles will be returned to the Philippines to contribute to the sustainability of the species' population, said Wildlife Reserves Singapore, which runs the aviary.
The scheme has echoes of China's panda diplomacy, which sees the Asian giant send the black and white bears to countries as gifts.
A breeding programme is also being carried out in the Philippines by a small band of conservationists at a sanctuary outside the southern city of Davao, close to the eagles' main forest habitat.
The bird of prey, which has white and brown plumage and an enormous wingspan, is classified as critically endangered by protection group the International Union for Conservation of Nature.