Falcons are the Arabs' favourite bird and Falconry is their hobby. They spend crores to buy falcons. The Amir of Kuwait bought a Falcon from Pakistan for one and a half Indian rupees, says Dr Zubair Medammel, who researched in the 'biology and behaviour of falcons'.
Indiansinkuwait met him during his visit to Kuwait last week. ''I attended a few conferences and visited the Falcon hospital at Sulaibikhat''. Falcons, attracted this academician and he through his Phd thesis revealed the obscurity behind Falconry. ''Falconry means one who uses falcons for hunting purposes''. The white falcons are the most expensive ones. Arabs also buy and train saker falcons.
Houbara Bustard, is falcon’s much loved prey. These birds, the falcons catch, are trickily snatched from them. ''Hunting houbara is a sport, costly, and they are found to have sexual boosting powers''. The meat of houbara is popular in Arab nations. The falcons are also used to hunt other birds and desert hares.
''Falcons being the fastest living beings make good hunters''. It can fly 350 kilometres per hour. They can turn their heads 360 degrees, and they have sharp eyesight. They attain their maximum speed during their downward leap to catch its prey.
The Arabian passion for the falcon dates back to pre historic times. Admiring Dr Zubair’s efforts to learn more on falconry, Sheikh Hamdan Ibn Mohammed Bin Rashed Al Maqtoum, the current crown prince of Dubai, granted him permission to study the falcons in his desert farm. Here he spent days and nights together to capture some of the rarest falcon vocalisations for sonogram analysis. Among the different calls he captured were territorial, alarm, mobbing, challenge, uttering, whining, chattering and creaking calls, each with a meaning of its own.
The only phd holder in the studies on falconry in India, he is an authority in the art of falconry. ''Training them is a tedious work. It is badly arrogant''. His constant devotion gets him close to the tough life of falcons. ''They fly very high and it is not easy to learn its behaviour when at the sky''.
It was his zeal for falcons that made him go to H.H. Sheikh Zayed Falcon Research Hospital, Abu Dhabi, where he was denied job by the German Doctor, even though he was ready to work as sweeper or keeper who clean the cages of Falcons. ''I took it as a challenge and worked on falcons at different places. To mingle with arabs I learnt arabic too''. He travelled many countries to learn more and more about falcons. ''This is my first visit to Kuwait''.
Dr. Zubair Medammal is Assistant Professor at Department of Zoology, University of Calicut and he is also working as Special Officer to the Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Calicut.