Rufus, a six-year old Harris hawk, and his trainer Imogen Davies have been toiling away at Wimbledon for years.
Trainer Imogen Davis and Rufus at the Wimbledon courts. Photo: Stella Artois ad
Rufus, a six-year old Harris hawk, and his trainer Imogen Davies have been toiling away at Wimbledon for years. He's up every morning at 5am, soaring the skies so the tennis stars can play their intense matches pigeon-free.
Well known and loved by tournament tragics and many in the United Kingdom, he's been catapulted to international stardom this year after starring in a sponsor's ad.
His fame has been spurred along by a Twitter account with more than 6000 followers. The updates from the account present a personality passionately anti-pigeon but fond of crowds, Andy Murray and attention.
Rufus taking off at Wimbledon. Photo: Stella Artois ad
Good position for the Murray match later, or should it be the Royal Box... pic.twitter.com/vYMUg6kQ8V
��� Rufus The Hawk (@RufusTheHawk) July 2, 2014Advertisement
Wimbledon has been using hawks since 2000 to keep away England's significant small bird population that used to cause frequent interruptions.
Harris hawks hunt small animals and birds. They're formidable predators, who can see eight times better than humans and have scaled feet with sharp talons for capturing and ripping apart their prey.
Mice and I don't usually get along but I could see me and this guy being pretty good pals... pic.twitter.com/RTGJPYZD6K
��� Rufus The Hawk (@RufusTheHawk) July 2, 2014So without Ms Davis's carefully keeping him to his ideal weight of just over half a kilogram, he could easily create a massive distraction by shredding an unfortunate pigeon brave enough to flutter around or into the arena.
���We use Rufus as a non-lethal deterrent, so he flies when he���s not hungry enough to eat the pigeons, but not full enough to ignore them either,��� Ms Davis told the UK Telegraph .
The pair work from dawn until around 9am when the day's crowds begin to assemble, scaring off birds in their own right. They fly around the Wimbledon courts all year round as an ongoing deterrant.
Every time you think you can hear an aeroplane going overhead during a match that's actually me going to get some snacks.
��� Rufus The Hawk (@RufusTheHawk) July 2, 2014Ms Davis has been working as a falconer for 14 years and has trained Rufus at the Wimbledon venue since he was 16 months old.
"Harris hawks are great at weaving between girders and buildings and stay quite locally to their handler, as they see them as part of their hunting pack, and this lends itself perfectly to the urban environment. It is great to see such an ancient art form at work in the modern day," Ms Davis wrote in a recent open question session on social site Reddit.
She added he sticks pretty close to her during his work, but occasionally strays to to have a cooling bath in a golf course pond next to Wimbledon.
Rufus also freaks out little birds at Westminster Abbey, the Northampton Saints Rugby Ground and landfill sites across England throughout the year.
That hawkward moment when someone at Wimbledon wants a photo with you but they've just mistaken you for a dragon from Game Of Thrones.
��� Rufus The Hawk (@RufusTheHawk) July 1, 2014