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Jakslak on the Ridge
There is a harsh beauty in the untamed landscape of Western Mongolia; to the Kazakh eagle hunters, the golden eagle represents the wind, the open space, the isolation, and the freedom that can be found here.
The landscape around the Altai Mountains of far-western Bayan-Ölgii Province in Mongolia is as untamed as the people and animals who live there. The cold desert climate experiences dustings of snowfall – but little rain – and the measured temperatures – ranging from -22.6C (-8.68F) on a January night to 22.6° (72.7F) on a July afternoon – don’t reflect the winds that blow across the high plateaus. The ground is rocky, supporting only small shrubs and grasses; while it is sufficient for nomadic grazing, I saw no farms or greenhouses. The area is isolated enough to be home to a number of endangered animals and a small population (about 90,000 in 2013) of hardy inhabitants: mostly (93%) consisting of Mongolia’s minority Kazakhs.
These Kazakhs – a Turkic people who arose as a unique tribal identity between 1456 and 1465 in the steppes of Eurasia – brought their language, their culture, and their tradition of eagle hunting with them through the mountains to this corner of Mongolia. Isolation has allowed them to keep their customs largely intact: here in the Altai Mountains, a dwindling number pass down the centuries-old art of eagle hunting.
It’s not an easy life: to be a proper berkutchi – as eagle hunters are called in the Kazakh language – they must first find a nest and capture a young female bird from under her parents’ watchful eyes. They then hood the fledgling, tether her and lovingly hand-rear her. When she is big enough, they teach her to come when called and land on her master’s arm, and to hunt down prey and give it to her handler.
Of course, as is the case with any animal training, repetition is the key – and even then, things don’t always go to plan!
Thanks to Mongolian guides G and Segi of Shaman Tours and photographers Jeffrey Chapman and Winslow Lockhart from Within the Frame, I was in Bayan-Ölgii staying with a family of semi-nomadic Kazakhs. On the third day of following our hosts out into the surrounding hills while they got their golden eagles ready for the the winter hunting season, one of the younger birds attacked the family dog instead of landing on her trainer’s arm. Even with intervention from the eagle hunters, the dog came off second-best and limped home with some nasty injuries. These impressive birds may be guided in their hunting behaviours, but they are never entirely tame!
I’ve posted about the family I stayed with before (see: Nurguli, Kazakh Eagle Huntress; At Home with the Kazakhs; and How to Train your Eagle), but it was endlessly fascinating watching them train (and learn to train) their magnificent golden eagles.
Do join me!
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A Lanscape of Rocks
All the ground here – from the sharp scree on the mountain hillsides to the rounded rocks covering the high plateaus and the shallow riverbeds – is awash with rocks.
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A Lanscape of Rocks
In many places, there are no roads; our Russian UAZ 4WD vehicles just aimed for the shallowest stretch of river and hoped for the best.
Rocky Ground
The ground is fairly inhospitable here above the tree line. Still, dry grasses and small lichen and shrubs find nurture in unlikely places.
Yaks on the Plateau
The sparse vegetation is one of the reasons that the nomads follow their herds, …
Domestic Yak on the Plateau
… moving to new pastures each season with their sheep, goats, horses and camels, or in this case, yaks.
Jakslak on the Ridge
Training golden eagles to respond to their “masters” takes a lot of practice and repetition. On our third day with a family of Kazakh eagle hunters, we follow half of them up to a high rocky ridge.
Jakslak on the Ridge
Training doesn’t always go to plan: Jakslak bears old scars (not from this bird) from a hunt gone awry. The hunters are always gentle and affectionate with their massive raptors – but things can still go wrong.
Jakslak Launches an Eagle
From high on a ridge, eagle trainers launch the huge birds to another handler who is whistling below.
Sarkhad on the Ridge
I don’t know which is more majestic: the magnificent golden eagle with her deadly beak and talons, or her handsome Kazakh-Mongolian handler in his lavish malakhai fox-fur hat. Family patriarch Sarkhad has caught and trained several of these awe-inspiring raptors in his life.
Family on a Ridge
Today, Sarkhad is here to help his 13-year-old granddaughter Nurguli practice her eagle-release techniques.
Eagle Huntress on a Ridge
The golden eagle looks almost as big as the petite Nurguli …
Eagle Huntress Launching her Bird
… as she helps it launch into the air.
Razdak and his Pony
Down the hillside, Razdak calls the eagle and tempts it with a meaty bone.
Razdak Catching an Eagle
This time, the eagle lands beautifully on Razdak’s arm. It was during one of these training runs that Nuguli’s young eagle attacked the family dog instead of flying to the handler calling her.
Sarkhad and his Eagle
The practice is repeated a few times with each of the birds that are being exercised: …
Sarkhad Launching an Eagle
… releasing the bird, …
Razdak Catching an Eagle
… and catching it on the fly.
Golden Eagle and her Companions
These birds weigh between 3 and 7 kg (6.6 – 15.4 lbs) and have wingspans of 1.8 – 2.3 m (5’9″ – 7’5″); their Kazakh handlers are not that tall! There is a forked wood perch attached to the saddle to help support the bird while they are riding.
Jakslak and his Eagle
Razdak and his Eagle
Eagle Huntress
Nurguli was at home with her eagle – but was less comfortable with us interlopers.
Eagle Huntress
Every so often, one of the guides would manage to engage her in her native Kazakh, and a smile would illuminate her face.
Watching young Nurguli with her golden eagle made me wonder about her world and her place in the future. To be an eagle hunter in this modern age might seem like an odd choice to many of us: but it is a choice. Two of Sarkhad’s sons are in Ulaanbaatar earning their livings (and supplementing the family’s income) in more “conventional” ways.
But, the love that these eagle hunters have for their bird and their environment is evident, and there must be a real satisfaction in wearing the traditional clothing that has been painstakingly made and embroidered by one’s wife or mother, and the hats trimmed with pelts from foxes or rabbits brought down by a bird one has trained oneself.
They have a difficult life, but they are their own masters.
May it always be thus.
Pictures: 29-30September2016
