The horseback eagle hunters of Mongolia

These are the Kazakh eagle hunters in Altai Tavan Bogd National Park, Bayan-Ölgii aimag, Mongolia. Professional eagle hunters from Kazakhstan call the practice berkutchy. Berkutchy is a life’s profession, and in Kazakhstan is often a hereditary one.

The relationship of the bird and its master is constant and all-consuming. In the training of a young eagle, the berkutchy must sacrifice his sleep for a long period. For weeks, the growing bird is rendered sightless under its hood until its dependence on its master becomes complete. Such intimacy must turn into a lifelong trust with the eagle – twenty years or more.

Hunting with golden eagles is primarily a source not of meat, but of fur. The main prey species are red and Corsac foxes, hares, wild cats and the occasional wolf; no match for the powerful golden eagle. The Siberian golden eagle, known as berkut, is one of the largest subspecies, and the huge females, which are used for hunting, have wingspans of 2m, with 6cm-long talons.

They can weigh over 6kg, hunting with them requires skill, strength and no little courage. Only around 240 Kazakhs actually practice eagle hunting; it’s a skill usually passed down through semi nomadic herder families, and is carried out in winter.

There is a proverb in Kazakhstan: “There are three things a real man should have: a fast horse, a hound, and a golden eagle.”