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2021-11-10 01:01
in Outings, Uae2021
While a lot of Abu Dhabi tourist attractions were closed due ot Covid, I was lucky that the Falcon Hospital had just reopened just before I was due to arrive. Sure, it's a cool place to visit, but seeing it person really drove the point of how cool falcons were, and how important they are in UAE.
It's amazing that the best of those birds are sold for up to $250,000, which explains why they get such extraordinary care. They actually get their own passports so that they can travel, first class to other countries whree hunting with falcons is allowed (falcon hunting is not allowed in UAE, but falcon racing and speed contests, are allowed and practised). Needless to say that it's super cool:
the hospital is the best in the country, it had many customers
falcon passport
We got a tour that explained the basics to us, and then took us to the hopsital/operating room:
falcon owners can put a radio on them so that they can be tracked and found if need be
patients waiting to be examined
they all get eye shields so that they don't attack one another
We got to see a routine operation on one of them:
ours got a nail trim
given the price of the birds, if they break a feather, the hospital has spares of each color, they can graft
if needed, they can graft an entire feather. They do regrow, but owners don't want to wait for that
beautiful
the ears are hidden
I was lucky enough to get one to feed
hungry bugger
menacing look, I'm happy it had a quail to eat
After the hospital visit, we got to see the exercise room where the flacons get to exercise and the makeshift museum inside:
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