FIRST HOME: Ali from the Czech Republic completes the 550 km race from Hopetown in the Karoo to the Pilanesberg. PHOTOS: PETER MOREY | |
THAT’S MY BABY: Race director Zandy Meyer (left) congratulates the winning team from the Czech Republic of Karel Klemens, his son Karel Jr, daughter Jana Klemensova and of course Ali. | |
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| Sun City hosts bird racing ‘Olympics’
WHEN a cheer reverberated around the Sun City Superbowl late last Saturday afternoon, it wasn’t in anticipation of a world-famous artist taking to the stage, a beauty pageant winner being announced or even for the Australian Open, which was playing out its final stages on big screens scattered throughout the arena.
No, the cheers from the 10000-strong crowd were reserved for Ali the pigeon. Mind you, Ali is not just any ordinary pigeon.
Now in its 13th year, the Million Dollar Pigeon Race is regarded as the Olympics of the sport and with R10million up for grabs, there’s a lot riding on the event.
“But is it really a sport?” I ask race director Zandy Meyer.
“Most definitely it’s a sport. I compare it to horse racing whereby animal competes against animal in identical circumstances,” Meyer says.
Pigeon racing can be traced as far back as the year 220 but it was during the 19th century that the sport took hold in many European countries, which perhaps explains the 600-odd pigeon fanciers from Germany who attended the weekend event.
Altogether 33 countries were represented, with their flags proudly draped over bannisters.
From early morning they arrived at the Superbowl where various companies have erected stalls related to the pigeon-racing industry.
Anything, from the latest in electronic tagging to medicine if your pigeon is suffering from diarrhea, is available.
Pigeon racing is an unusual sport and it seems to attract an unusual following.
From the nearly 2m blonde from Germany – complete with 15cm stilettos – and a nicely tanned midriff, to the English lad decked out in the colours of the Union Jack, his muscled arms heavily tattooed, there was quite a mixture.
“In South Africa we have only about 6500 people involved in pigeon racing,” Meyer says.
“Often it is a case of a son learning from his father.”
Betting obviously plays a big part in the weekend events and a number of permutations are available.
Owners and spectators would gather in groups, deep in discussion, with bets placed in hushed tones via cellphones.
None would commit to exactly how much was laid out, but the stakes were obviously pretty high.
The pigeons are “liberated” from Hopetown in the Karoo early on the Saturday morning and then make the 550km flight back to the Pilanesberg where they have lived for the past nine months.
The obvious question I guess is: “How do they know how to fly home?”
“The pigeons arrive here early in May,” Meyer says.
“Those that come from overseas are placed in strict quarantine until the end of June.
“During this time the birds are closely monitored, vaccinations are carried out and each pigeon is electronically tagged and registered.
“It is during these early stages that the pigeon familiarizes itself with its surroundings and its loft, which is its home.”
Training of the pigeons is basically the same as for any other sports person or animal.
Whereas a marathon runner will start at shorter distances in the build-up to the 42km event, with pigeons its flight distances will increase with time.
To start with distances are relatively short – around 15km – and as the pigeon builds up its strength and endurance so its training stints increase.
And just like any other sport, the temptation to cheat – especially with such a lot of money at stake – is very real.
Which is why Ali – who is from the Czech Republic and won first prize of R1,6million for its owner – was tested for banned substances immediately after the race.
The National Federation for Pigeon Racing in South Africa complies with the procedures and requirements of the World Anti-Doping Agency so testing for performance enhancing drugs is compulsory.
These tests are also carried out randomly on other birds taking part in the race.
The Pigeon Insider newsletter sample:
Here is another great video from Dennis of hawkbait lofts, he shows how he adds garlic to his birds drinking water once per week. He simply takes 4 cloves of ordinary garlic and removes the skin then pokes holes in them ad adds them to one gallon of drinking water. The garlic helps to purify the pigeons blood if you notice your pigeons nose is getting grey the garlic will help turn it back to healthy chalky white, it helps with circulation helping the veins to open and the blood to flow. The garlic also helps in the birds intestinal tract you should also notice that their droppings become firmer.
Learn the champions secret winning pigeon racing formula! Click here to learn more
RAE'S CORNER:
Pigeon Conditioning
When it comes to pigeon racing, we believe that it is very important to race the right bird for the race event. As a rule, headwind pigeons generally tend to have more muscle by comparison to tailwind birds. Our birds normally race from the south and fly north in winds that prevail from a north westerly direction. As sprinter birds under our racing format, we feel the muscled birds tend to consistently out perform the others.
Some birds tend to be hard muscled by comparison to others which tend to be much softer. In early race season, we believed that the hard muscled birds had an edge based on race results. However as the season progressed we found these birds started to decline in performance. We are drawn to the conclusion that the hard muscled birds tend to tire quicker and recoup slower. The birds were able to tolerate the stress and maintain health. However they lost their competitive edge through progressive time.
Cool air is dense, by comparison to warmer air. We found the well muscled birds continued to perform throughout a wide temperature spectrum. However, at temperatures above 22 C and below 16 C we seen a wider gap in arrival times. The birds with less muscling were best equipped to compete in mid temperature range. Even a couple of degrees difference in hotter conditions produces a significant time spread for the best muscled group of birds. The spread is more gradual as temperatures decline. Homing pigeons with strong developed muscling fly with their legs well tucked up to the body, which improves aero dynamics. We feel the larger breasted bird, with well developed soft muscling out perform the others in short distance racing. RAE LEWIS
Thanks for tuning in!!
Glenn West
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