Viggo,” a Philippine eagle, is assured of continued care and support as Eagle Cement Corp. (Eagle Cement) strengthened its partnership with the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) during recent Philippine Eagle Week.
The company pledged its support to Viggo, its adopted Philippine eagle within the PEF’s conservation program.
Viggo is an official ambassador for the conservation of the species. Since becoming sexually mature recently, he has successfully established a bond with his caretaker as his “human surrogate mate” through sexual imprinting. This enables PEF to collect sperm samples from Viggo for its artificial insemination breeding program.
As such, Viggo plays a significant role in safeguarding the species from extinction as he is one of the PEC’s potential semen donors.
Furthermore, Viggo is the first captive-bred Philippine eagle trained to perch on a gloved fist. He continues his flight training to be one of the featured eagles in the flight demonstrations at the PEC.
Eagle Cement has been providing essential benefits, such as food, enclosure maintenance, and veterinarian and keeper care annually for Viggo since 2017. The company will continue to do so until 2022.
Eagle Cement’s partnership with the PEF is among a series of initiatives that the company is taking to advocate the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. Promoting biodiversity (SDG 15) and leveraging the power of partnerships to generate sustainable development (SDG 17) are two pillars of Eagle Cement’s commitment to protect the delicate balance of our ecosystem.
“We join the PEF in calling on corporations, large and small, and regular Filipinos to support the conservation of Philippine Eagles, especially as they are still considered endangered today. As our national bird, they embody the health of our forests, the state of our natural resources, and the proud national heritage of our people. In these disruptive times, the Philippine eagle, like the people it represents, should not only be celebrated but also protected,” said John Paul L. Ang, Eagle Cement’s president and CEO.
Support and donations to the PEF amid Covid-19, may be coursed to the foundation through https://www.philippineeaglefoundation.org/donate.