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At first look, the Souq Waqif clinic within the historic centre of Doha, the capital of Qatar, could possibly be every other state-of-the-art hospital.
Nurses in blue scrubs transfer briskly by means of the brilliant wards, conducting rounds.
Radiology and working rooms whir with the beeps and blinks of displays.
Specialists squint at x-rays, and masked medical doctors make incisions with all of the high-tech instruments of contemporary surgical procedure available.
There’s only one distinction: The rooms are stuffed with falcons.
Within the tiny, rich emirate of Qatar, the desert birds are among the many nation’s most pampered residents.
An obsession for the reason that Palaeolithic interval
Lengthy revered throughout the Arabian Peninsula for his or her ferocity and searching prowess, falcons at present function sheikhly standing symbols recalling a Bedouin previous.
The bond between falconers and their falcons has been an inspiration for the reason that Palaeolithic interval, when drawings of the creatures first appeared on cave partitions.
Though much less modern now than within the days of yore, the artwork of falconry continues to be handed down from one technology to the subsequent in Qatar and different oil-rich sheikhdoms of the Persian Gulf.
With demand rising lately, golf equipment that educate the game have sprouted up throughout the area.
Falcons compete in an rising variety of races and sweetness contests.
The best falcons fetch a minimum of just a few thousand {dollars} and Qataris spare no expense to keep up their good well being.
“The institution of the hospital was to assist the interest and heritage of elevating falcons … it is a pastime that stretches its veins into a number of generations,” Souq Waqif hospital director Ikdam Al Karkhi mentioned.
“Maintaining them alive and properly is an important obligation.”
Public hospitals equivalent to Souq Waqif provide professional care to sick and injured hawks, roughly 30,000 a yr.
Feather replacements and mani-pedis
The marbled reception space bustles with house owners and handlers bringing their birds in for check-ups, medical checks, feather replacements, orthopaedic surgical procedures — and even one thing akin to mani-pedis.
Falcon nail submitting could be very critical enterprise as a result of birds transplanted from the desert wild to opulent properties in skyscraper-studded Doha or bred in captivity can’t simply discover sharp surfaces on which to trim their talons.
And a falcon hunt could also be a long-venerated custom, nevertheless it’s additionally grisly work.
The cornered prey at occasions places up a battle, clawing an attacking falcon and hobbling its wings.
Every of a falcon’s feathers is significant to its flight, necessitating cautious feather substitute after a scuffle.
Medical doctors pull from a financial institution of shed feathers to search out one that completely matches the wounded fowl’s breed — plumage of the identical sample, size and color.
“If these broken feathers stay, it may possibly trigger loss or discount of the fowl’s health,” Dr Al Karkhi mentioned.
“They should be handled.”
Hospital surgeons deal with different casualties of the hunt, too.
Falcons’ beaks and talons endure harm from all that swooping and plunging and gobbling.
‘The love of the fowl is extraordinary’
Within the clinic ready room, falcons perch regally on their house owners’ gloved wrists. The Qatari males of their flowing white robes deal with the birds with love, stroking their feathers and misting their beaks with water.
“If an individual is neglecting their fowl, it is an enormous drawback,” mentioned Hamad Al Mehshadi, a falcon competition supervisor taking his raptor for an everyday medical check-up.
“When one holds onto their fowl, it’s one thing else. The love of the fowl is extraordinary.”
Oil wealth and world enterprise might have reworked Doha right into a futuristic capital with a gleaming array of skyscrapers and megaprojects, together with large stadiums quickly to host thousands and thousands of soccer followers for the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup.
However Souq Waqif nonetheless sees a gentle stream of 150 falcons a day — an indication that the echoes of Qatar’s historical previous will not be misplaced.
“Even the look {that a} falcon and its proprietor share, it is completely different than every other look,” Dr Al Karkhi mentioned.
Falconers “really feel the loyalty of this fowl — a fierce warrior within the wild and but a pet in my hand”.
AP
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