Repost This Article“EAGLES HAVE BEEN KNOWN to pick off small children when hungry, or just plain annoyed.”
Like most locals, my guide Aynabek is fluent in Mongolian, Kazakh, and English (he can also add Russian and French to the mix). “The Kazakhs have a saying — ‘There are three things a man must have: A fast horse, a hound, and a golden eagle.’”
We are in Bayan Ulgii — Mongolia’s westernmost province — in search of the legendary Eaglehunters. Cousins to the ancient nomadic Mongol tribes, today’s modern-day descendants practice a tradition that has been passed down from father to son for over 6,000 years. Wide, treeless river plains surrounded by craggy peaks make ideal hunting conditions for the top predator here; eagles will take on a wolf without blinking, and have even been known to kill snow leopards.
Chicks are taken from the nest very young, then brought home to be reared in the house with the family, their eyes kept hooded until the bond between man and bird has formed. The Eaglehunter we visited at the end of the season introduced us to his two beautiful girls in almost-peak condition, while fox pelts and a couple wolf carcasses lay drying in the hasha (family compound) courtyard all around us.
For more, check out this eagle hunting video, and pick up Stephen Bodio’s Eagle Dreams for a vivid (and very thorough) account of this culture.
Thanks to Jan Schultz and Aynabek Havduali for providing the amazing photography.
Hanging with eaglehunters in western Mongolia
Bayan Ulgii square, the heart of Ulgii City
Hanging with eaglehunters in western Mongolia
Autumn morning, Altai Mountains
Hanging with eaglehunters in western Mongolia
Nomadic family encampment; note the solar panels and satellite dishes.Intermission
Hanging with eaglehunters in western Mongolia
Breakfast inside a Kazakh ger (yurt)
Hanging with eaglehunters in western Mongolia
Training young eagles at sunset on a cold, windy evening -- ensuring they're hungry for the next day's hunt
Hanging with eaglehunters in western Mongolia
Balapan (2-year old eagle), preparing to hunt
Hanging with eaglehunters in western Mongolia
Having just taken a fox, this eagle returns to his master.
Hanging with eaglehunters in western Mongolia
Commencement of the annual Eaglehunting festival
Hanging with eaglehunters in western Mongolia
Smoke breakIntermission
Hanging with eaglehunters in western Mongolia
Spectators watch this bird take a fox lure.
Hanging with eaglehunters in western Mongolia
The youngest hunters in the field
Hanging with eaglehunters in western Mongolia
Victorious
Hanging with eaglehunters in western Mongolia
Life and death on the steppe; Khanjiga Toli, which means ''going home full-handed''
Hanging with eaglehunters in western Mongolia
It's good to be #1.
Hanging with eaglehunters in western Mongolia
Nomads bid us farewell.
Matthew Lynch
Matthew is a freelance writer who is currently wandering the planet seeking out people, projects, and places that are making a positive difference in our world. Follow his adventures at The Green Backpack.
awesome….a must visit country
WOW.
This is just so good . . . so beautiful . . . exquisite
Thank you very much.
Gorgeous collection of photos.
I am glad people liked our pictures
This is among the top three desitinations/cultures/events on my list to experience and photograph. Thanks for the post, Matthew.