Granati Giovanni, Cichella Francesca, Lucidi Pia
Falcong SRLS, via Sabotino 56, 64021 Giulianova, Italy.
Faculty of Bioscience and Technology for Food, Agriculture and Environment, University of Teramo, via Renato Balzarini 1, 64100 Teramo, Italy.
Animals (Basel). 2021 Feb 18;11(2):530. doi: 10.3390/ani11020530.
Raptors are some of the most at-risk groups of birds in the world and saving these top predators is essential for maintaining the health of many ecosystems. After hospitalization, raptors are often released when muscular recovery is still unfitting when they are unable to hunt efficiently and are at risk of dying from starvation within a few days. On the other hand, if a convalescent bird is trained with the only use of classic falconry techniques, it is likely to remain dependent on the caretaker/falconer even long after the release, so unable to hunt independently. To overcome these problems, a new training method was conceived, which could improve raptors' muscular strength while limiting habituation to humans. This has been possible due to the combination of classic falconry techniques and modern technologies, such as the introduction of specific workouts with drones. Three falconry raptors and one wild Eurasian hobby were trained through high-tech falconry to develop the ability to catch, grasp, and airlift their prey at a different speed, altitude, and resistance. The main findings of this study were: (i) The rapid increase of the raptors' speed; (ii) the muscular growth and endurance, and (iii) successful reintroduction of a wild bird.
猛禽是世界上最濒危的鸟类群体之一，拯救这些顶级食肉动物对于维护许多生态系统的健康至关重要。猛禽住院后，当肌肉恢复仍不理想，无法高效捕猎且有在几天内饿死的风险时，它们常常会被放归自然。另一方面，如果一只康复的鸟仅使用传统的鹰猎技术进行训练，那么即使在放归后很长时间，它也可能仍然依赖照料者/驯鹰人，因此无法独立捕猎。为了克服这些问题，人们构思了一种新的训练方法，这种方法可以增强猛禽的肌肉力量，同时减少它们对人类的习性依赖。这之所以成为可能，是因为将传统鹰猎技术与现代技术相结合，比如引入无人机进行特定的训练。三只用于鹰猎的猛禽和一只野生欧亚燕隼通过高科技鹰猎技术进行训练，以培养它们在不同速度、高度和阻力条件下捕捉、抓取和空运猎物的能力。这项研究的主要发现是：（i）猛禽速度的快速提升；（ii）肌肉的生长和耐力增强；（iii）一只野生鸟类成功放归自然。
