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Description
Inktober 2019

Instead of the official Inktober prompts, each day of October I will highlight a different underappreciated endangered species. These species are at risk of disappearing forever due to human activity, yet most people have never heard of them.

Day 30 - Saker Falcon, Falco cherrug

IUCN Status: Endangered

The Saker Falcon is a large falcon found from northern Africa across eastern Europe into Mongolia and China. It is prized as a falconry bird, and demand for Saker Falcons in the United Arab Emirates and other middle eastern countries has created intense poaching pressure and localized extinction in some parts of the Saker's range. As many as 6,000-8,000 birds may be trapped and removed from the wild annually. According to one study of Saker trapping, 77% of the trapped birds are juvenile females, which skews the wild population towards males and further reduces the number of breeding pairs. In Europe, the Saker Falcon population has declined from habitat degredation (fewer prey species, and fewer nest sites), electrocution on power lines, and secondary poisoning from pesticides and rodenticides used in agriculture.

CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, imposed a trade ban on Sakers to the UAE in 2002. This decreased the number of birds sold within the country, but did not eliminate international poaching. Captive breeding of Saker Falcons is expanding in many countries to supply the demand for falconry birds. Captive-bred falconry birds may be mixed localities, hybrids of other falcon species or unusual color morphs. This makes the majority of captive stock unsuitable for repopulating the wild, but captive-breeding significantly decreases the demand for wild caught individuals.

Increased monitoring and study of Saker Falcons, artificial nest sites, bird-friendly power line designs, and more ecosystem-friendly agriculture and livestock grazing are projects underway to help the Saker Falcon population recover. However, it will be important for these projects to maintain funding. It will also be important, as captive-breeding grows more widespread, that hybrid individuals are prevented from interbreeding with wild Saker Falcon populations.

Description
Inktober 2019

Instead of the official Inktober prompts, each day of October I will highlight a different underappreciated endangered species. These species are at risk of disappearing forever due to human activity, yet most people have never heard of them.

Day 30 - Saker Falcon, Falco cherrug

IUCN Status: Endangered

The Saker Falcon is a large falcon found from northern Africa across eastern Europe into Mongolia and China. It is prized as a falconry bird, and demand for Saker Falcons in the United Arab Emirates and other middle eastern countries has created intense poaching pressure and localized extinction in some parts of the Saker's range. As many as 6,000-8,000 birds may be trapped and removed from the wild annually. According to one study of Saker trapping, 77% of the trapped birds are juvenile females, which skews the wild population towards males and further reduces the number of breeding pairs. In Europe, the Saker Falcon population has declined from habitat degredation (fewer prey species, and fewer nest sites), electrocution on power lines, and secondary poisoning from pesticides and rodenticides used in agriculture.

CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, imposed a trade ban on Sakers to the UAE in 2002. This decreased the number of birds sold within the country, but did not eliminate international poaching. Captive breeding of Saker Falcons is expanding in many countries to supply the demand for falconry birds. Captive-bred falconry birds may be mixed localities, hybrids of other falcon species or unusual color morphs. This makes the majority of captive stock unsuitable for repopulating the wild, but captive-breeding significantly decreases the demand for wild caught individuals.

Increased monitoring and study of Saker Falcons, artificial nest sites, bird-friendly power line designs, and more ecosystem-friendly agriculture and livestock grazing are projects underway to help the Saker Falcon population recover. However, it will be important for these projects to maintain funding. It will also be important, as captive-breeding grows more widespread, that hybrid individuals are prevented from interbreeding with wild Saker Falcon populations.