Vladivostok. Bird demonstration on the “Day of the Falcon” within the framework of the Eastern Economic Forum – 2024 on the territory of the Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) on Russky Island. Photo: Yuri Smityuk/TASS
HAWK DIPLOMACY
The falcon is perhaps the most revered representative of the animal world in Russian folklore. It is most often mentioned in epics, fairy tales and proverbs. Let us recall at least “The Tale of Igor’s Army”: “Boyan, brothers, there are not ten falcons for one flock of swans in the forest…”. Or “The Tale of Finist: the Clear Falcon.” Or the old soldier’s exercise: “Fly, falcons, like eagles.” Well, what would we do without Maxim Gorky’s “The Song of the Falcon”?
Russian women called their beloved man a falcon and their beloved son a falcon.
Man domesticated the falcon for hunting in ancient times. Proof of this is a drawing discovered on the wall of the Assyrian fortress of Dur-Sharrukin (in the north of present-day Iraq) and dating back to the 8th century BC. In Russia, falconry has been practised since at least the 9th century and, as in other countries, was the exclusive domain of the nobility: taming a falcon and teaching it to hunt is a costly and problematic task.
The falcon is the only bird of prey that can be trained. It can reach speeds of over 100 km/h, is able to soar higher into the sky than other birds and has very keen eyesight.
Falcons also have other qualities worthy of respect. These proud birds do not eat carrion; they are beautiful and monogamous. Couples even play such games: grabbing each other with their talons, falling off, and then disengaging and leaving the dive. By the way, females are larger and faster than males.
Today, the falcon theme is not developed in epic, but in technology. There is a Falcon business jet and the Sapsan high-speed express (the fastest falcon breed in the world) is popular.
In ancient times, a well-trained hunting falcon was considered a particularly valuable gift: rulers presented it to each other as a sign of alliance and cooperation. Today, falconry is very popular among wealthy and influential people in the Arab world. And now, when Russia is turning eastward, time-tested falcon diplomacy may come in handy.
Photo: Yuri Smityuk/TASS
UNDER THREAT OF EXTERMINATION
One of the key moments of this diplomacy was the plenary session of the International Forum “Hawk Day” “Environmental Diplomacy: Hawks – New Horizons of Cooperation”, held in Vladivostok within the framework of the Eastern Economic Forum. In addition to the Russians, specialists from the environmental agencies of Bahrain and Qatar, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan took part.
Due to unfavorable environmental conditions and predatory poaching, the number of falcon breeds is sharply declining; almost all countries where this bird lives are facing this problem.
“In Russia, more than 50 percent of the Falconiformes order is listed in the Red Book,” said Alexander Kozlov, Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation, in a message to the meeting participants.
The fastest population declines are seen in the gyrfalcon, saker falcon and peregrine falcon.
This “Day of the Falcon” is being celebrated for the second time. And the first time, last year, Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia and the United Arab Emirates signed a Framework Declaration of Intent for the conservation of the Gyrfalcon population. Bahrain joined in January this year, and Qatar did so during the forum.
There are currently 20 falcon farms in Russia. One of them is the rehabilitation centre for the reproduction and conservation of rare species of birds of prey “Falcon Center Kamchatka”. The project started in 2022.
“Kamchatka is the main habitat of the East Siberian gyrfalcon,” said Roman Vasilevsky, deputy chairman of the Kamchatka Territory government, at the session. – Since the times of Ancient Russia, the Russian northern gyrfalcons have been valued all over the world; they are distinguished by their hunting instinct and passion due to the extreme conditions of survival in the Far North. Kamchatka has the highest percentage of white and light-colored individuals, which in a given year make up up to 70% of the population.
Thanks to its larger size and unusual colour, this species of falcon has become the most popular in the world, especially in Arab countries. The consequence of this popularity was massive poaching and smuggling.
On the black market, an ordinary falcon costs poachers between 4 and 5 thousand dollars. A white one – several tens of thousands. In the Arab world, the cost of elite “white” copies reaches between 200 and 300 thousand dollars and even half a million. That is why poachers hunt this breed so much.
“The biggest threat is poaching of young females,” Vasilevsky stressed.
According to him, the world population of gyrfalcons is estimated at 8-11 thousand pairs, 5 thousand pairs are found in Russia. In Kamchatka, the number of gyrfalcons does not exceed 1000 pairs; over the last 35-40 years it has decreased by 2-3 times. The Kamchatka nursery is designed specifically to replenish the population and saturate the Arab world market with birds of prey; the possibility of legal acquisition will reduce interest in poaching.
The centre has already given birth to its first offspring. In 2022, 5 gyrfalcon chicks were born, the following year, 17 and this year, already 25.
NORILSK GREKCHET
The local residents showed interest in organizing the work of Russian kindergartens.
“We want to visit at least 10 of the 20 Russian nurseries and we will be happy to invite Russian specialists,” said Otabek Babamuradov, head of the department for the development of ecotourism and hunting at the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change in Uzbekistan.
So far there is only one nursery in this republic, but they plan to build two more.
The work of protecting and breeding falcons requires considerable expenditure, some of which is taken over by private companies.
“To prevent the gyrfalcon from ending up in the black pages of the Red Book, a serious and consolidated approach is needed, and companies, together with the state, are doing everything possible to achieve this,” said Andrey Grachev, vice president of Norilsk Nickel. – Two years ago, Norilsk Nickel and the Ministry of Natural Resources signed an agreement to preserve the gyrfalcon population: the company invested tens of millions of rubles. Research sites have been established in Yamal and Kamchatka, where the largest groups of birds of this species are found. Genetic analysis and monitoring of birds using sensors have been organized. Five large scientific expeditions have been carried out in collaboration with scientists from the Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. And for the first time gyrfalcons were discovered in the Norilsk industrial region.
And at the end of the session, the unexpected happened. A representative of Rasis LLC, Al-Mutairi Mashari Badr from Saudi Arabia, said that he was donating a pair of purebred white gyrfalcons to the Kamchatka center for further breeding of rare birds. And he showed these beauties via video link.
