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Zac Sharpe visits two institutions that are as uniquely Dubai as the sports to which they cater for.
The smell of antiseptic is as prevalent as in any other hospital.
Polished hallways lead to intensive care wards and surgery theatres.
Concerned visitors stop by regularly to assess the patients� progress.
But these hospitals are quite unlike any other, catering for a very
select clientele for whom the worries of medical insurance are of no
importance.
Evolving from a royal passion for the ancient art of falconry and the
modern alternative to the sport of kings - camel racing, two specialist
medical and research centres were born.
A conservation-minded man, His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al
Maktoum has assumed a greater responsibility than his love of these two
animals demanded. In order to ensure the falcon and camel populations
received the finest medical attention available he established the Dubai
Falcon Hospital and the Dubai Camel Hospital.
One lump or two?
Enjoying a coffee in company of the emirates� softly spoken resident
camel expert, the impulse to ask him if he takes �one lump or two?�
quickly subsides.
Twelve years in the UAE have allowed veterinarian consultant Dr Jahangir
Akbar to witness the evolution of these quirky oddities of nature from
traditional farm animal to scientifically-honed racing thoroughbred.
Six years ago Dr Akbar was given the onerous task of establishing a
camel hospital. At that time camel racing was still a largely
traditional pursuit more reliant on intuition than exact medical
principles.
�When the hospital first started there wasn�t even a syringe on hand.
Today our medical centre takes care of 4,000 breeding camels, 2,000
racing camels and conducts research into common afflictions,� said Dr
Akbar.
Ten camels can be treated at any one time allowing the four
veterinarians on staff to watch over more lengthy recoveries. The most
frequent injuries are fractures and joint problems, including the bane
of elderly humans, arthritis.
Vaccinations against diseases such as camel pox and treatment of
bacterial and parasitic infections occupy the bulk of the remaining
patient admissions. The hospital, like any other, is equipped with a
mobile x-ray, ultrasound equipment and operating tables.
Special operational considerations need to be taken into account when
the in-patient weighs 450 kilograms and doesn�t understand the surgeon�s
good intent. But unlike the popular misconception of a spitting and
stubborn animal, Dr Akbar insists the camel is a model patient.
�You very rarely get one that needs to be sedated. Usually they have
been trained and broken in and have become used to humans. You might
come up against one that doesn�t want to behave but not very often. They
are actually a very friendly animal.�
Purpose-built operating benches incline 90 degrees allowing the standing
camel to be strapped to the table before it is lowered into place.
�If a camel is seriously injured and unable to be moved we can travel to
the location with our mobile x-ray van and usually provide makeshift
relief until the animal can be brought back to the hospital for
necessary surgery. The desert is not really an ideal location to perform
an operation,� Dr Akbar said.
The shift in the role of the 50,000 UAE camels from a bedouin�s source
of milk and transport to a pampered racer is relatively recent.
For centuries the �drought animal� was relied upon by the nomadic tribes
of the Arabian Peninsula. It�s hump was thought to be a water reservoir
which enabled it to roam the desert for two to four weeks without water,
although science has since proven it to be a storage unit for fat which
can be drawn upon for energy.
This sort of enterprise has brought with it the necessity to guard
against the excesses which accompany professional horse racing.
Using the latest in forensic medicine techniques, the Dubai Camel
Hospital is responsible for carrying out drug tests on racing camels.
�Although the use of performance enhancing drugs in camels is very rare
in the UAE, the only means to ensure it stays that way is to test the
racing camels regularly,� stressed Dr Akbar.
With research continuing to breed faster camels in the same way champion
race horses are bred it may be that by the twentieth birthday of the
Dubai Falcon Hospital, the stereotype of the sedentary ship of the
desert has transformed into sprint queen of the desert.
The hooded falcon does not twitch a muscle as the doctor runs an
electronic scanner the length of its breastbone. After a series of beeps
and blips a serial number appears on the LCD read-out.
�We keep track of all the birds� medical records through a microchip we
surgically implant in all the falcons brought to the hospital,� said
hospital director Cheryl Remple without any hint of amazement in her
tone.
Together with her veterinarian husband David, who was on a hunting
expedition in Pakistan during this interviewer�s visit, the Remple�s
have nurtured Sheikh Hamdan�s vision into a thriving hospital dedicated
almost solely to the reparation of injured and ill hunting falcons.
Fifteen years ago the hospital treated 74 falcons in a small
out-of-the-way shack with the bare essentials in terms of tools and
technique. Since then 12,000 birds have been treated.
�About 99 per cent of the birds we treat are falcons. Because it is such
a specialised area we can concentrate on hunting falcons specifically,�
said Remple.
Modernity has had a more immediate and literal impact on the safety of
hunting falcons than most would assume.
�Most of the injuries we get in here are related to birds hitting
fences, signs, cars and posts. There are more things to hit nowadays,�
explained Remple.
Traditionally bedouins trapped migrating falcons in autumn when they
flew south from central Asia, especially Kazakhstan. They in turn used
them to hunt the tasty houbara, a migratory bird common to this region.
As a traditional hunting weapon and modern symbol of the UAE, the falcon
today holds a special place in the consciousness of the national
population.
In the face of technological advances, urban encroachment on former
hunting grounds and modern lifestyles the sport, or art, of falconry
continues to thrive.
Conversely, modern medical technology is actually being used to prolong
the productive life of the Saker, gyr and peregrine falcons. And
breeding programs and conservation efforts are being directed toward the
preservation of the other integral element of hunting - the prey.
The houbara needs undisturbed open desert spaces with good vegetation to
thrive and ensure the longevity of falconry.
The parade of men walking into the Dubai Falcon Hospital is a sign that
the sport is still being passed from father to son.
According to zoologist Dr Nigel Barton, the understanding of the
falcon�s health needs are better understood than in the early years of
the hospital. There was still room for education, however, among bird
owners.
�Many of the injuries we get in here are preventable with the right sort
of care and attention. We see a lot of foot injuries which can only be
treated so many times before it surgery becomes a lost cause,� said
Barton as he made an incision into the soft padded foot of an
anaesthetised patient.
�Foot injuries come about from the birds spending prolonged periods on
soft cushions or perches which allows infection to take hold much easier
than if the bird was in its natural habitat,� he explained.
The one kilogram birds also suffer from bacterial build-up in the thin
air sacs which dominate their insides. Calmed by the leather hoods over
their eyes, several such sufferers perch in the wardrobe-sized intensive
care unit.
While poor management is attributed to many cases brought to the
free-service hospital, the sheer demands of owning a hunting falcon are
usually enough to guarantee the bird�s welfare, according to Remple.
�A bird needs to be worked every day of the year for about three hours a
day. For anyone willing to dedicate themselves to spending this much
time looking after their falcon they are usually going to take good care
of them.�
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Animal Hospital
Today the bedouins are more likely to rely on the camel for prize money
than milk. A champion camel, usually female as about 90 per cent of the
runners are of this leaner and quicker sex, can fetch an owner as much
as Dhs 10 million.