Kazakh eagle hunter in a magnificent red fox coat and hat, Western Mongolia
Image details
Contributor:
Terry Allen / Alamy Stock PhotoImage ID:
EM9RHHFile size:
47.7 MB (2.7 MB Compressed download)Releases:
Model - no | Property - noDo I need a release?Dimensions:
3333 x 5000 px | 28.2 x 42.3 cm | 11.1 x 16.7 inches | 300dpiDate taken:
3 October 2014Location:
Ger camp in Western Mongolia near the border with KazakhstanMore information:
In Western Mongolia near the border with Khazakhstan, Kazakh tribesmen still practice the age old tradition of hunting with eagles. The relationship between a raptor and its handler is an opportunistic one where the eagle trusts the handler to protect it and provide it with food and the handler trusts the eagle to return to him (or in rare cases, her) after releasing the eagle to hunt. The hunters take female eagles from the nest when they are ready to fly and train them to hunt and return to their owners. They keep the eagles for about 6 years until they are sexually mature and then release them to the wild so they can breed, leaving them with a gift of an animal carcass to help feed them as they adjust to the wild. Hence the practice of eagle hunting does not impact the wild population of birds. The Kazakh hunters use the eagle to hunt fox and rabbits for their furs, which they wear (most hunters, as this one is, wear a fox fur hat), and to supplement their meagre diet in the winter. This hunter is wearing a beautiful red fox coat which will keep him warm in the bitterly cold winters.