SIR LANCELOT
Species: Falco rusticolus & Falco cherrug, Gry-saker Falcon • Hatched: 2011 • Died: Oct. 1, 2017 • Gender: Male • Disability: Human Imprint, Seizures
Sir Lancelot, a Gyr-saker falcon, originally belonged to a falconer who was training him to hunt for sport. Unfortunately, Sir Lancelot began having seizures due to his cross-bred nature and was no longer able to hunt. He came to live at the American Eagle Foundation in 2012 when he was one year old.
Sir Lancelot passed away October 1, 2017. In addition to being a magnificent, beautiful bird, he was an ambassador for his species in educational outreach programs, much loved by caregivers, and will be greatly missed.
ABOUT THIS SPECIES
The Gyr-Saker falcon is a hybrid between the Gyrfalcon and the Saker Falcon. The Gyrfalcon resides in the Arctic region while the saker falcon resides in the Middle East, Asia, and Europe. Both of these falcons are capable of taking prey such as pheasants, hares, jackrabbits, and other birds, mammals and occasionally reptiles! Saker falcons are known to be very susceptible to avian influenza, therefore, an experiment was done with hybrid Gyr-saker falcons, which resulted in Saker Falcons being capable of protection from bird flu by vaccination, at least in captivity. Additionally, each falcon has exceptional skills that combined would make the ultimate falconry bird.