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European Falcons Featured at Saudi Int’l Falcon Breeders Auction

The Saudi Falcons Club (SFC) is hosting the International Falcon Breeders Auction (IFBA) with over 14 worldwide countries participating from August 5th to September 5th, 2021. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Saudi Falcons Club (SFC) is hosting the International Falcon Breeders Auction (IFBA) with over 14 worldwide countries participating from August 5th to September 5th, 2021. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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European Falcons Featured at Saudi Int’l Falcon Breeders Auction

The Saudi Falcons Club (SFC) is hosting the International Falcon Breeders Auction (IFBA) with over 14 worldwide countries participating from August 5th to September 5th, 2021. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Saudi Falcons Club (SFC) is hosting the International Falcon Breeders Auction (IFBA) with over 14 worldwide countries participating from August 5th to September 5th, 2021. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh has kickstarted its first-ever edition of the International Falcon Breeders Auction (IFBA) with an exciting display of the French gyrfalcon. Bidders, breeders, and those with a genuine passion for falconry showed tremendous competition at the event.

Many had crossed thousands of miles to attend the IFBA affair featuring the finest breeds of European falcons and which took place in Malham, north of Riyadh.

The Saudi Falcons Club (SFC) is hosting the IFBA with over 14 worldwide countries participating from August 5th to September 5th, 2021.

Bidding on the gyrfalcon from the French SB Falcons farm opened at SAR15,000 and closed at a whopping SAR 24,000. Meanwhile, bidding on a German falcon from another competing farm opened at SAR 10,000 and closed at SAR14,000.

The IFBA featured seven of the finest European falcons presented from farms in Germany, France, Britain, and Spain on its fourth day.

The IFBA aims to provide the rarest falcon breeds in the Kingdom and the region, as well as to attract the most authentic international experiences in the field of falconry to the Kingdom, maintaining the Kingdom as an international destination for these farms, thereby expanding investment opportunities and creating direct and indirect business opportunities.

It is noteworthy to mention that the IFBA has been developed to become a full-service event at the SFC in Malham, where an area is designated for companies providing veterinary products, tools, and supplies for the breeding and training of falcons.

Last October, the Saudi Falcons Club had organized an auction for locally captured falcons, which was a resounding success, with sales of 102 falcons caught in different regions within Saudi Arabia exceeding SAR 10 million.

The auction’s fierce competition between buyers and presence of quality falcons deemed the first-ever locally captured falcon auction a success.

A global milestone was set by selling the world’s most valuable “Shaheen” falcon at the auction, which was entrusted to its owner for SAR 650,000.

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Snowy Owl Rescued from Car Grille by Minnesota Woman

A snowy owl rests at Annabell Whelan's home after being recovered from the grille of a car in northeastern Minnesota on Monday, Dec. 23, 2024, and before she was taken to a wildlife rescue. (AP via Annabell Whelan)
A snowy owl rests at Annabell Whelan's home after being recovered from the grille of a car in northeastern Minnesota on Monday, Dec. 23, 2024, and before she was taken to a wildlife rescue. (AP via Annabell Whelan)
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Snowy Owl Rescued from Car Grille by Minnesota Woman

A snowy owl rests at Annabell Whelan's home after being recovered from the grille of a car in northeastern Minnesota on Monday, Dec. 23, 2024, and before she was taken to a wildlife rescue. (AP via Annabell Whelan)
A snowy owl rests at Annabell Whelan's home after being recovered from the grille of a car in northeastern Minnesota on Monday, Dec. 23, 2024, and before she was taken to a wildlife rescue. (AP via Annabell Whelan)

Annabell Whelan woke up Tuesday and frantically checked on her holiday overnight guest — Nowl the snowy owl, who she rescued from the grille of a car the day before.

Whelan was out with her boyfriend's family Monday in Duluth, Minnesota, when she saw the owl “just hanging out there, literally" after car and bird had collided, she told The Associated Press. The car's owner had already called for help, but the animal rescue organization that the bird needed was closed — so Whelan stepped in, not for the first time that day.

Earlier Monday, Whelan found an injured great gray owl on the ground further north in Two Harbors, Minnesota. Experts at Wildwoods, a Duluth-based wildlife rehabilitation center, told her how to safely catch the bird.

“I definitely thought that I had had my fix of owls with the first one," said Whelan, 22, a Lake Superior Zoo guest experience manager who graduated earlier this year with a biology and environmental science degree, The AP reported.

“I could tell he was having a hard time with one of his eyes," she said. “I kind of took my time and just sat there with him and talked quietly and was just kind of trying to coax him to trust me a little bit.”

Whelan scooped the owl up in a blanket, transferred him to a dog crate in the car and dropped the great gray owl off at Wildwoods. He was sent along with another animal to the University of Minnesota's Raptor Center in St. Paul.

But the snowy owl she found hours later was in a much scarier situation, she said.

“It was obviously a lot more trauma," she said.

Since Wildwoods had already closed for the night, Whelan wrapped Nowl in a blanket and crated her overnight in a dark, quiet room in her home — keeping her and her cousin's curious cats and dog at bay. She named her Nowl, a play on noel.

“I tried to prepare myself in case I woke up in the morning and she didn't make it through the night,” Whelan said. But she said she cried happy tears when she saw Nowl moving and awake, bringing her to Wildwoods that morning.

Nowl “is quite beaten up," Wildwoods posted on Facebook Tuesday after examining the bird. “We applied a wing wrap, gave her meds, and coordinated with The Raptor Center to get her down to them.”

The rescue said people should slow down, stay alert, and call for help when they see an injured animal. The animals are terrified of people and should be quickly moved to a quiet, safe space where they can be left alone until professionals can step in, the rescue said.