Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, often makes his love of animals clear on social media, posting pictures with his beloved falcons, horses and even giraffes.
On Sunday, Sheikh Hamdan shared footage of himself helping the elephants that live in the 225-square-kilometre Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve cool down with watermelons, which the gentle giants ate whole.
Filming from the passenger seat of his 4x4, Sheikh Hamdan shared the video alongside elephant and watermelon emojis, with the hashtags “summer” and “refreshing”.
Here, we take a look at some other animal moments Sheikh Hamdan has shared.
When he asked for help naming a foal
Sheikh Hamdan is known for his love of all things equestrian, a passion he shares with his father, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai.
He regularly posts pictures and videos from stables with his horses, as well as pictures of his young twins Sheikh Rashid and Sheikha Sheikha with them, suggesting he is passing his love on to the next generation.
In January 2022, Sheikh Hamdan shared videos of himself petting a newborn foal, as it unsteadily ran around its paddock.
Later, he shared a series of pictures of himself cuddling the foal, asking for the help of his 14 million followers in naming it, alongside posting a blue heart emoji.
When he rescued a wounded dog
In February 2022, Sheikh Hamdan adopted a rescue dog Grace after she was found wounded on the streets of Sharjah.
Thanks to him, the Saluki mix received the best medical treatment in the country as well as rehabilitation treatment to help her overcome any fear or trauma from the incident.
Sheikh Hamdan bonds with his newly adopted rescue dog
Bubbles Pets Rescue group found the dog wounded in the Al Barashi area of Sharjah and X-rays showed she had been shot several times. Pellets were found lodged in her skull, both eye sockets, her neck, chest and back legs.
Vets were able to remove three pellets from her body, but said it was too risky to take the others out as doing so could further damage her internal organs.
After the case was documented on Instagram, officials from the Crown Prince’s court contacted the rescue group and took Grace into their care.
When he released sea turtles into the ocean
Sheikh Hamdan has supported Jumeirah's Dubai Turtle Rehabilitation Project on several occasions, helping to release turtles into the sea.
To mark World Sea Turtle Day in 2020, he joined the team to release 45 hawksbill turtles, as well as an additional 20 hatchlings from the Emirates Marine Environmental Group’s Jebel Ali Reserve.
Each of the 45 rehabilitated turtles had spent several months being treated for various ailments including plastic ingestion and injuries that required surgery.
The Dubai Turtle Rehabilitation Project has returned thousands of turtles from across the UAE to the Arabian Gulf since its inception in 2004. The main species tended to at the facility are hawksbill and green turtles, with occasional loggerhead and olive ridley turtles brought in.
When he flies his falcons
Sheikh Hamdan’s love of falcons is evident throughout his social media, as he regularly shares images and videos of himself training and flying the birds.
In 2020, he opened a private falconry centre in Dubai, where he operates a successful breeding and training programme.
From a mission control centre, where birds are trained to hunt in giant hangars, to the on-site hospital, where vets are busy giving endoscopies to sedated raptors, the aviary has plenty of state-of-the-art features.
From one end to another, the huge hangars where the birds are trained are half a kilometre in length. Areas are separated by vast partitions, which can be opened at the touch of an iPad.
Conditions at the centre can be varied to mimic a Russian winter, a milder European climate and the UAE’s warmer temperatures, during the training process.
The falcon is the UAE's national bird, a symbol of force and courage, and has played a part in Emirati culture for centuries.
Falconry is a traditional sport that has been practised for more than 2,000 years, with the skills being passed down through generations of Emiratis. Sheikh Hamdan joined the Hamdan bin Mohammed Heritage Centre in the early 2000s to launch the Fazza Championship for Falconry, as a way to revive interest in the sport.
When he feeds his giraffes
As well as the elephants that featured in Sunday’s Instagram post, the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve is home to several giraffes that roam freely and often make an appearance on Sheikh Hamdan’s Instagram feed.
One of his favourite things to share, as well as adorable pictures of newborn giraffes, is footage of himself – and in recent years – his young twins, feeding the animals. He first took the twins to meet giraffes when they were just a few months old, sharing a picture of himself carrying one of the young twins on his shoulders as an inquisitive giraffe looks on.
He has also shared videos of himself feeding the creatures, including one of him petting a giraffe’s neck as it scoffs on chopped fruit and vegetables.
