‘Falcon of the Gulf’ sold for KD 209,000

A falcon was recently sold at an unbelievable price: KD 209,000. This is a record price for a bird of any kind. The unique falcon was sold during an auction held in Jahra. This falcon is a unique Iranian Farsi falcon which was hunted by Kuwaitis in Al- Nuweisib when it was flying over Kuwait from Iranian mountains during the migratory season, seeking warm weather. According to a local daily, these hunters were training their falcons in the area, and when they saw this unique falcon, they immediately sent a hunting pigeon with a net to capture it.

The GCC is considered a transit area for the falcons and other wild birds leaving cold areas from September to November. The auction was attended by many falcon connoisseurs from different GCC countries. The man who sold the falcon and the man who bought it refused to speak with the media. Homoud Al-Ruwei is a big fan and owns a falcon himself. “I always attend these auctions as I really enjoy this hobby. The price paid for this Iranian falcon was the highest ever and that’s the reason it’s called the Falcon of the Gulf. Such a falcon hasn’t been seen in many years. It reached this price as representatives of sheikhs fought hard for it and there was extensive bidding,” he told the Kuwait Times.

According to Al-Ruwei, if the falcon was hunted in Kuwait while it was flying over the country, its price would be higher than if it was hunted abroad. “People who love this hobby spread news about this on social media, so they always know where the falcon is hunted and when the auction takes place. When a falcon is imported into Kuwait, its keen followers will immediately know when exactly it entered Kuwait and passed through the customs,” he explained. “This falcon is a unique Farsi falcon from the mountains and is about a year old. The most important factor it its color.

This falcon is white which makes it expensive. The height should be an ideal average of 17 cm and other characteristics which matter are the feet, wings, eyes, bill and so on. Also the height of the body, which should be in average of 17 cm. If the feathers don’t have any folds, it will be considered the perfect falcon,” added Al-Ruwei. Falcons have different origins. “Iranian falcons are the most expensive among falcons from other countries like Russia, China, Mongolia, Syria, Ukraine, Turkmenistan and others. The country of origin also affects the characteristics, and if somebody tried to artificially change the color, it will be obvious and the experts at the judging contest will find out. There are various beauty contests held for falcons in Kuwait and other GCC countries to showcase their beauty. They don’t consider their abilities like flying or hunting because the main criterion is beauty,” he pointed out. The average age of a falcon is between 15-20 years. “If a falcon lived for 25 years, this would be considered an exception.

The price of a falcon is not affected by its gender and despite us being experts, we don’t know the gender but only know the age. We feed them pigeon meat. These birds and other wild birds are facing extinction, so they shouldn’t be hunted randomly in massive numbers,” concluded Al-Ruwei

Source: KUNA