Where Eagles Dare

Excecutive summary by darmansjah

The aimag (province) of Bayan-Olgii - Mongolia's "Wild West" - is regarded as teh birthplace of eagle falcony. It is thought that the art dates back to around 2000 BC

On  a recent visit to Mongolia, photographer Boaz Rottem was introduced to the ancient art of eagle hunting, Original text by Boaz Rotterm is a freelance photographer . originally from the USA, he currently live in China.

Towards the end of the year, Mongolia hosts its annual eagle-hunting festival. I went along to see how this ancient tradition, which hinges on a deep relationship between humans and the ultimate bird of prey, is managing to survive.

Eagle hunting runs in families – a father passes the tradition on to his son and, very occasionally, his daughter. By his late teens, the young hunter  is ready to start out on his own. First, he has to catch his own bird, usually a female. He does this by taking a captive subject and placing some meat next to it on the ground. Soon, a passing wild eagle will see this and want to join in the feast – once it lands, it is caught using a net. The eagles require a period of acclimatization, and will stay blindfolded with a small mask for most of the time they are with the hunters. If they weren’t blindfolded, they would just fly away every time they saw something to eat.

As soon as the hunter sees the prey – a fox, a rabbit or even a small wolf – they will take off the bird’s mask and release it. The bird will then dive onto the animal, either killing it or pinning it to the floor, before the hunter on horseback collects it. The eagles’ prey ar used mainly for their skin or fur – a thick fur coat is a status symbol in Mongolia.

The festival, which is held in the province of Bayan-Olgii, is a change to see how well-trained the eagles are. In one exercise, an owner will ride ahead on horseback with o fox’s tail on a string behind them. A bird on the top of a hill is then released, guided down to the ground by the hunter mimicking an eagle’s calls.

These eagles are released into the wild when they get older. There is a strong relationship between eagle and owner sometimes a bird will sleep in the owner’s home. There is a lot of care involved, as eagles to catch. It’s a bit like owning a small sometimes a bird will sleep in the owner’s home. There is a lot of care involved, as eagles to catch. It’s a bit like owning a small Ferrari.