Kazakh golden eagle hunter on Altai mountains, Mongolia - stock photo

The eagle in Ulgii (Bayan-Olgii)west Mongolia is of the 'Altai' sub-species, endemic from the Altai moutains to the far eastern Siberia. The eagles mate for life, and nest in rocky crags. They are known for living in the moutains, but we saw hundreds of them on a trip through the dry grasslands of nearby Zavkhan province. Ethnic Kazakhs compete with their eagles to win at the Golden Eagle Festival, an event trying to keep alive the traditional activity. The people no longer rely on hunting using eagles. These eagle hunters, who preserve an old tradition that’s passed from generation to generation, tame eagles and use them for hunting smaller animals, such as foxes and marmots. The eagle hunter’s families live on this side of Mongolia after having migrated between Kazakhstan, Russia and Mongolia until the fall of communism and closing of all borders. The tradition’s preservation was what drew me to them. They preserve it without any touristic nature, unlike in Kazakhstan. These Kazakh eagle hunters, who live in Mongolia today, are the last ones on earth who still deserve the title “Eagle Hunter”. It is not merely a title to them, but a way of life.