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Trainer takes to skies to hunt for lost falcon
THE trainers of a missing £10,000 hunting bird have taken to the skies to search for their prized falcon.
When Gripper. a rare five-month-old falcon, went missing during a training session, staff at Armthorpe Falcons in West Moor Lane tracked a transmitter attached to the bird's foot to the Epworth area.
Not willing to lose their highly trained bird, owner Bryn Close enlisted the help of friend and aeroplane owner Walt Senior.
Mr Senior and head falconer Christopher Southern took headphones and tracking equipment on board the tiny bi-plane to listen out for the bird, as they braved strong winds to circle the skies above Sandtoft airfield in search of the falcon.
But despite tracking a 200 mile radius from the plane, the bird still hasn't been found and the men now believe that the transmitter may have fallen off its ankle.
Mr Close, who owns 120 falcons which he regularly sells to clients in the Middle East, is now offering an undisclosed reward to anyone who finds the bird.
"It's difficult to know where it might be now," he said. "They can travel huge distances in a very short amount of time.
"When you have put the hours of training into a bird it's not easy to replace.
"You can buy another but we have spent three months training this one and we'd like to find it."
Gripper went missing during a training session during high winds some 1,200 ft above a field in Armthorpe.
He is a rare Gyr-Saker falcon, with a wing span of approximately 4ft.
A hybrid breed of the Gyr falcon, which is found in the Arctic circle, and the Saker falcon, which are often found in the Middle East, the breed is unique for its tolerance of a wide variety of climates.
Anyone who believes they have seen the bird, which is similar in appearance to the one pictured, should call (01302) 834771.
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Weather for Doncaster
Friday 10 February 2012
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Temperature: -6 C to 2 C
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