Dahe Daily Yu Video Special Dispatch Qatari Reporter Wang Weihao
Qataris don't pet cats, they don't pet dogs, they pet eagles! Keeping eagle falcons as pets is a "national hobby" for Qataris. And how much does an eagle falcon cost? Who is raising them? The reporter came to the Eagle Falcon Market in Qatar to find out.
There is a photo circulating on the Internet - a prince of a Middle Eastern country with more than 80 falcons on a plane, which once became the focus of netizens' attention. People in Arab countries like to keep falcons, especially Qataris.
Eagles belong to the family Falconidae, and falcons belong to the Hayabusa family, although there are differences in body shape and posture, but both belong to birds of prey. In the Arab conception, the eagle and the falcon are basically the same thing.
In Qatar, the Eagle Falcon element can be seen everywhere, and the host media center in central Doha has a giant caricature of the World Cup mascot Raib holding an eagle falcon on the façade.
Doha's famous Wajiv Market is an ancient traditional Arabic market. This area is the Eagle Falcon District, which is also a highlight of the Wajiv Market, with shops selling eagle falcons lined up and hospitals dedicated to treating eagle falcons. When the reporter visited the scene, he happened to meet a Qatari teenager, who happily came out of the shop holding the eagle falcon he had just bought, and the local people's love for the eagle falcon was evident.
When the reporter entered a store, dozens of imposing eagle falcons flew into view, all tied to their legs and standing on crossbars waiting to be sold. In order to prevent the eagle falcon from being restless, some slightly larger eagle falcons wear blindfolds, they just stand quietly, but the sharp claws and pointed beaks are still prohibitive.
The shop selling eagle falcons has many peripheral items, such as gloves to hold eagle falcons, eye masks for eagle falcons, and crafts made from feathers. Tourists who want to take a group photo only need to spend 10 rials, equivalent to 20 yuan. However, if you want to buy an eagle falcon home, it is expensive, a smaller eagle falcon costs 10,000 riyals, or 20,000 yuan, and the price of a slightly larger adult eagle falcon doubles. For the "rich and oily" Qataris, this price is just commonplace. Auctions of eagle falcons are often held locally, and the eagle falcons that are healthy and good at hunting can sometimes be auctioned for millions of dollars.
In China, eagle falcons belong to the national second-class or above protected animals, and some categories are first-class protected animals, and private breeding and sale are strictly prohibited. But there are no such restrictions in Qatar, where the falcons come from a wide range of sources, mostly from their own country and neighboring countries. In the market, there is also a hospital dedicated to eagle falcons, which has advanced bird medical equipment, even if the eagle falcons are not sick, the owner can bring them here for maintenance and health care, body checkups, manicures, feathers maintenance and other services. Many Qataris will bring their eagles with them when they go abroad, and airlines in most Middle Eastern countries also provide the service of flying with eagle falcons.
"Initially, most of them hunted falcons for their livelihood and let them hunt prey such as hares for them. Later, the eagle falcon evolved into the pet of the nobility, but that is all history. Falconry farming has now become a recognized national sport in Qatar. According to the boss, Qatari men almost have an eagle falcon, and some even raise many, rather than showing off luxury cars, luxury watches, jewelry, it is not as good as showing off their eagle falcon, an eagle falcon is a symbol of status and dignity. In the eyes of Middle Easterners, eagles can soar into the sky, symbolizing the fearlessness and courage of nature, and the bravery, robustness and perseverance of eagle falcons when hunting are also in line with their national character.
Source: Dahe News Yu Video Editor: Zhao Pengyu