Mongolian Eagle Hunter — Bayan-Ölgii Province
799.00 د.إ
A Kazakh eagle hunter of western Mongolia photographed on a mountain ridge in full traditional embroidered coat with his golden eagle on his arm — the bird’s 2-metre wingspan partially extended, Altai mountain backdrop.
Description
The Kazakh eagle hunters of Mongolia’s Bayan-Ölgii Province maintain a 6,000-year-old tradition of hunting with trained golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) — the birds caught as juveniles and trained over 3 years for the hunting partnership. A fully grown female eagle trained for hunting weighs 5–7 kilograms and carries a wingspan of 1.8–2.2 metres. The hunter carries the bird on a padded arm-guard and releases it from horseback or mountainside to hunt fox and sometimes wolf across the Altai steppe in winter. This photograph was made during the Golden Eagle Festival near Ölgii with prior arrangement with the specific hunter. The composition places the hunter and eagle on a mountain ridge with the Altai panorama as backdrop — resolving the embroidery detail of the traditional Kazakh dress while capturing the eagle in a position of partial wing extension that reveals the complete span of the hunting bird.
