Falconry: A Two-Thousand-Year-Old Sport

By Dr. Hamada El-Antably

Falconry is considered one of the most prominent traditional sports practiced by Arabs for more than two thousand years, as its skills have been passed down through generations. The sport of hunting with falcons relies on patience and cooperation between the bird and the falconer.

As a result of treating his bird with gentleness and mercy, the falconer gains his bird’s trust and obedience. In his book “Falconry, Our Arab Heritage,” the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan describes the traditional methods of catching birds, one of the most important being that the hunter digs a hole in the ground, hides himself among the trees, and then uses a pigeon as a lure set for the falcon. He brings the pigeon out of the hole and remains in control of its movements through a string tied to its leg. When the falcon pounces on its prey, the hunter gently pulls this string until the falcon is in his possession.

Another method can be used to catch the falcon, which is the net method. A pigeon is used once again as a lure for the falcon, where the hunter releases it, and the falcon comes to pounce on it, whereupon the net wraps around it. The hunter then catches it, extracts it from the net, restrains it, and hands it over to the falcon trainer to begin training it. Emirati falconers have been able to invent their own special methods for breeding and multiplying falcons, which those interested in this sport worldwide consider among the best methods in this field.

In 1996, one of the largest projects related to the conservation and breeding of falcons was established in Al Ain.

By Dr. Hamada El-Antably