Transcript Central Asia - Hunting Wolves with Golden Eagles

Central Asia - Hunting
Wolves with Golden
Eagles
• In the Mongolian People's Republic, the Mongolian
People's Revolutionary Party organized two national
wolf hunting weeks, one in March and another in
December. Anyone who killed a wolf and presented a
pair of ears as proof was rewarded with a sheep and
some felt. Each May, the government commanded the
populace to scour the countryside for wolf lairs in an
effort to exterminate wolf cubs. When the inhabitants
of a district believed it had destroyed its last wolf, the
local government would proclaim a public holiday.
Records show that up to 5,000 wolves were taken
annually in the early 1930s. 4000-4500 wolves were
killed annually in Mongolia in 1976. In the Kazakh SSR,
some 1,000 professional hunters killed thousands of
the wolves yearly to collect government bounties. In
1988, just before the Soviet economy collapsed, the
hunters killed 16,000 wolves.
Central Asian Tradition
• Weighing up to 15 lbs but with a
wingspan reaching 7 feet, golden eagles
are avian apex predators, ruling the skies
over territories as large as 60 square
miles. For the people of the steppes of
Central Asia, training these awesome
creatures is considered a high art; a
tradition stretching back thousands of
years whose secrets have been passed
down through the generations. Training
a golden eagle takes remarkable skill,
toughness and patience.
• Soaring from its master’s arm, the mighty
bird wheels high overhead, then dives like an
arrow from the apex of its arc. On the plain
floor, the lone wolf glances back while
continuing its faltering trot onwards. Without
warning, the giant raptor appears out of the
sky, hitting its target at high velocity while
clawing and raking with razor-sharp talons.
The wolf bites back at its far more
lightweight attacker and for a brief instant
the bird of prey appears prone – but in an
instant, it lunges back at its canine quarry,
fixing it in an iron grip. The wolf struggles for
a few seconds. Then it lies still
Hunting Festivals
• People in Kyrgyzstan like to hunt and having
a good hunting eagle is a matter of honor
and high position in hunting societies. There
is a number of hunting festivals that are held
in Kyrgyzstan where all ‘brave’ hunters
gather to show what they have to show. As
we said, eagles are one of the top
attractions. Here you can se a few of photos
from a such festival that was held in
Cholpon-Ata in Kyrgyzstan where you can se
how a mad hunting eagle is dedicated to its
hunting role so he even doesn’t fears to
attack a wolf. Luckily for him, the wolf is tied
and cannot fight back escape.