EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

Saker in Decline

Saker Falcon (Falco cherrug milvipes), Family Falconidae
Khovsgol Lake, Mongolia

Explanation:  This beautiful raptor is in trouble.  

Tethered by a falconer, here along the shores of Khovsgol Lake in northern Mongolia, this bird of prey is a Saker Falcon.  It is prized by falconers for its aggression.  But there is trouble.

Despite its widespread distribution, ranging through northern Africa, the Middle East, and much of central Asia, the adult breeding population is in decline.  Threats to its persistence are many, including modification of its arid steppe habitat by human development for housing, urban expansion, ranching, agriculture, and more.  The species is marked Endangered on the IUCN Red List.  

But these photos also highlight another threat, perhaps more surprising than habitat loss.  The birds that are coveted for falconry are nearly all females, because like many birds of prey, the Saker Falcon exhibits what is termed reverse sexual dimorphism, with females being significantly larger than the males.  And so the female falcons are sought, creating a great imbalance in the captive population and greatly restricting breeding rates.

Moreover, along with Gyrfalcons (Falco rusticolus), Saker Falcons are some of most "traded" raptor species -- bought, sold, exported, and re-exported legally and illegally.  

Information:
     Panter, C. T., E. D. Atkinson, and R. L. White. 2019. Quantifying the global legal trade in live CITES-listed raptors and owls for commercial purposes over a 40-year period. Avocetta 43:23-36.