Avian experts in Dubai have treated and rehabilitated an endangered eagle which was found entangled in nets.
The Greater Spotted Eagle was found in the desert a month ago by an Emirati boy who brought the bird to the Dubai Falcon Hospital for help.
Vets treated wounds to the bird’s leg, before tagging and releasing it last week in a conservation area.
A satellite tracker shows the male is healthy and flying around with another spotted eagle he met soon after his release.
We get more than 250 locations and signals per day so we can know exactly where he is and what he is doing Panos Azmanis
“The boy and his family [who found it] came and donated it to the hospital one month ago,” said Dr Panos Azmanis, a falcon veterinarian at Dubai Falcon Hospital.
“It was entangled in the net and the eagle could not fly and there was a wound on the leg. The young boy wants to become a falconer. He understood he could not start falconry with this big eagle so he brought the bird to us.
“We promised to release the eagle and we gave him as a present, a small captive-bred falcon, to start learning falconry.”
Vets performed a number of tests, including X-rays and blood tests, checking for parasites, and other procedures, including an endoscopy.
Once the bird was nursed back to health, they released it in the Marmoon Desert Conservation area, near Al Qudra Lakes, tagging it first with a satellite tracker to monitor its progress.
The tracker was paid for by the Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Finance Minister, Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid and the Dubai Falcon Hospital’s managing director, Humaid Al Muhairi, said Dr Azmanis.
“Rashid is only one of the handful eagles that have been satellite tracked in the Arabian Gulf and the data will make a significant impact to the scientific community to protect the species,” said Mr Azmanis.
The bird is still in the area, which is a known habitat for the species, and is in good health, he added.
“We are tracking him daily and download data twice a day. We get more than 250 locations and signals per day so we can know exactly where he is and what he is doing,” said Mr Azmanis.
“After the release in the wild, another greater spotted eagle came to sit with him. The next day they were exploring the area together. We expect to start his migration outside UAE in March.”
Every autumn, the birds of prey migrate from their breeding ground in southern Russia and northern Kazakhstan to Europe, North Africa, the Gulf, and sometimes beyond, to north east Africa.
Research by Environment Agency Abu Dhabi suggests two separate populations may visit the UAE each year.
The department has been monitoring six greater spotted eagles to see where they go when they leave the UAE.
The data captured shows once the birds reach the Caspian Sea, they split into two directions.
One group veers to the east, while the other moves around the west coast.
One of the birds being tracked by EAD, known as 296, was tagged in late 2015, providing scientists with more than four and a half years of data.
Since then it has travelled 100,000km, visiting 10 countries.
Understanding migratory routes and resting sites is critical to the survival of the species. There are believed to be fewer than 10,000 mature individuals left across the world. The birds are classed as vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
MATCH INFO
BRIGHTON 0
MANCHESTER UNITED 3
McTominay 44'
Mata 73'
Pogba 80'
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
England v South Africa schedule:
- First Test: At Lord's, England won by 219 runs
- Second Test: July 14-18, Trent Bridge, Nottingham, 2pm
- Third Test: The Oval, London, July 27-31, 2pm
- Fourth Test: Old Trafford, Manchester, August 4-8
Profile Periscope Media
Founder: Smeetha Ghosh, one co-founder (anonymous)
Launch year: 2020
Employees: four – plans to add another 10 by July 2021
Financing stage: $250,000 bootstrap funding, approaching VC firms this year
Investors: Co-founders
The biog
Profession: Senior sports presenter and producer
Marital status: Single
Favourite book: Al Nabi by Jibran Khalil Jibran
Favourite food: Italian and Lebanese food
Favourite football player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Languages: Arabic, French, English, Portuguese and some Spanish
Website: www.liliane-tannoury.com
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
ARGENTINA SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Franco Armani, Agustin Marchesin, Esteban Andrada
Defenders: Juan Foyth, Nicolas Otamendi, German Pezzella, Nicolas Tagliafico, Ramiro Funes Mori, Renzo Saravia, Marcos Acuna, Milton Casco
Midfielders: Leandro Paredes, Guido Rodriguez, Giovani Lo Celso, Exequiel Palacios, Roberto Pereyra, Rodrigo De Paul, Angel Di Maria
Forwards: Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Lautaro Martinez, Paulo Dybala, Matias Suarez
SERIE A FIXTURES
Saturday Benevento v Atalanta (2pm), Genoa v Bologna (5pm), AC Milan v Torino (7.45pm)
Sunday Roma v Inter Milan (3.30pm), Udinese v Napoli, Hellas Verona v Crotone, Parma v Lazio (2pm), Fiorentina v Cagliari (9pm), Juventus v Sassuolo (11.45pm)
Monday Spezia v Sampdoria (11.45pm)
RESULTS
Bantamweight: Jalal Al Daaja (JOR) beat Hamza Bougamza (MAR)
Catchweight 67kg: Mohamed El Mesbahi (MAR) beat Fouad Mesdari (ALG)
Lightweight: Abdullah Mohammed Ali (UAE) beat Abdelhak Amhidra (MAR)
Catchweight 73kg: Mosatafa Ibrahim Radi (PAL) beat Yazid Chouchane (ALG)
Middleweight: Yousri Belgaroui (TUN) beat Badreddine Diani (MAR)
Catchweight 78KG: Rashed Dawood (UAE) beat Adnan Bushashy (ALG)
Middleweight: Sallah-Eddine Dekhissi (MAR) beat Abdel Enam (EGY)
Catchweight 65kg: Yanis Ghemmouri (ALG) beat Rachid Hazoume (MAR)
Lightweight: Mohammed Yahya (UAE) beat Azouz Anwar (EGY)
Catchweight 79kg: Souhil Tahiri (ALG) beat Omar Hussein (PAL)
Middleweight: Tarek Suleiman (SYR) beat Laid Zerhouni (ALG)
RESULTS
6.30pm Handicap (TB) $68,000 (Dirt) 1,200m
Winner Canvassed, Par Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer)
7.05pm Meydan Cup – Listed Handicap (TB) $88,000 (Turf) 2,810m
Winner Dubai Future, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor
7.40pm UAE 2000 Guineas – Group 3 (TB) $125,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Mouheeb, Ryan Curatolo, Nicholas Bachalard
8.15pm Firebreak Stakes – Group 3 (TB) $130,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Secret Ambition, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar
9.50pm Meydan Classic – Conditions (TB) $$50,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Topper Bill, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
9.25pm Dubai Sprint – Listed Handicap (TB) $88,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner Man Of Promise, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
