To meet the eagle hunters and for the eagle experiences, travel to Bayan-Ulgii province, the remote western corner of vast open Mongolia where the Kazakhs reside. Not all Kazakhs of Mongolia are eagle hunters. There are approximately 400 registered Eagle hunters due to the Mongolian Eagle Hunters’ Association. The average age of the eagle hunters is 30 to 70 years while the oldest of them is 88 years.
It is not unusual to see small boys handling their fathers’ eagles at the age of 6 and 7.
Mongolian Eagle Huntress
Eagle hunting is not the work of a man. There are 11 eagle huntresses. One of them is a 13-year-old teenage huntress Ashlopan who competed against the adult hunters in the 2014 Eagle Festival and won prizes.
Mongolia Eagle Hunting Season
In general, summer is the best time for Mongolian travel. However, the weather is cooler, it is better for the eagle experiences. Mongolian eagle hunting season is between the end of October and the beginning of February. The hunting is done on horseback. The eagle hunters travel through the mountain one day to several days in search of the games. They hood the eagles with a special hood and keep the eagles on their arm readily to remove the hood and release when they see the hunting game. On the contrary, the eagles are carried without hoods to let them scan the areas and release when the hunter feels any body movement or their tightening grip on his gloved hand, signaling the eagle has spotted a prey. Joining the eagle hunters for hunting will be challenging, but an authentic experience. Authentic eagle hunting experience is available with us. Or would you prefer gentler experience? The Golden Eagle Festival is held in September and October.
Some Facts about Mongolia Eagle Hunters and Eagles
Eagle hunting impacts
Mongolian eagle hunters choose female eagles for hunting, which must have been lived and bred in nature. The female eagles are larger in body size and braver than the males. However, capturing the female eagles during their breeding ages is influencing the population growth. The first attempt to keep the eagles’ growth is the eagle hunters should release eagles after some time and they do in 6-7 years capture.
More works and studies should be done on the eagle and prey of the captured eagles. When studying the captured eagles’ age, 70% are 1-4 years, 19% 5-6 years, 6% are 7-8 years, and 3% are 9-10 years.
