The Eagle hunters of Mongolia (SteemTravel)

Hey guys I have noticed a lack of travel related posts on Steem. I have decided to remedy that by writing about my travels on Steem using only my own experiences and photos (and those of my travelling companions). These travel posts will (hopefully) be interesting to readers and informative for fellow travellers. If you would like to read more stories like this one please upvote and let me know in the comments.

Wild Western Mongolia: Kazakh Eagle hunters

Stepping off the plane onto the single runway airport in Ölgii, the largest town in western Mongolia, feels like ariving at the end of the world. As this town sits on the extreme west of one of the world's least densly populated countries and one of its last true wildernesses its frontier atmosphere is entirely deserved. The small rundown airport is surrounded by a dusty and stone strewn wilderness which Mogii has been carved out off. Though the day is overcast large birds of prey can clearly be seen circling. This is a common site all throughout Mongolia where the wide open plain's (known as the steppe) lack of humans and natural cover combined with its abundance of small prey supports an astonishing amount of airborne predators. Golden eagles, steppe buzzards, vultures and black kites are common sights.
Perhaps then it is not surprising, when one considers that birds of prey are about as numerous as humans in western Mongolia ( especially outstide of its limited urban areas), that some of the world's last eagle hunters can be found here. The Kazakh minority of western Mongolia have retained a skill once known by many cultures and since lost to all but theirs. Even their countrymen across the border in Kazakhstan no longer remember the art of eagle hunting. A one and a half hour drive North and a little west of Mogii, further into nowhere, the arid landscape drops and transform into a small but lush valley. A tiny fertile patch of greenery and water between opposing mountains and desert.

It is in this place that I expected to be met by a true force of nature, a relic from a time long lost to antiquity, a living memory of when man tamed even the mighty golden eagle to dominate the landscape. What I met instead was a small weatherbeaten aged Kazakh farmer at his humble farm of sheep, yak and horses. He wore jeans and a wool jumper, hardly the stuff of legend.

Our host

However, upon inviting us into his home I began to suspect there was more to this man than met the eye. The walls of his living room (my bedroom) were adorned with a giant owl, large fox pelts and even a wolf's hide. All trophies kept from his hunting with his eagles. "A small deer" was his answer to questions about the largest kill he made with an eagle. After dining upon one of his recently slaughtered goats he promised to show us his eagles, of which he has 3, the next day.

The new day brought with it a miraculous transformation. This diminutive wizend farmer had transformed. Instead of the wool jumper and jeans he wore imaculate blue and purple tradtional Kazak dress. And perched on his right arm was an enormous golden eagle looking as at ease as his dog. Taking a large slab of neck meat from a recently slaughtered goat he feeds his eagle from his own hand without fear. The giant eagle complete with razor sharp talons the size of fingers and a beak designed for tearing flesh ate gently from his hand.

Later on it was revealed that this male was not even the largest of his eagles. The largest bird, a female, (golden eagle females are larger than males) had been misbehaving and was locked in the barn. In order to feed the brooding eagle the door to the barn had to be quickly opened and slammed shut for a goat’s leg to be chucked inside. The need for speed became clear as just before the barn door shut a shrieking giant flying mass of talons and feather flew at the door.

Every winter the Kazakh Eagle Hunters of western Mongolia still hunt with their eagles. Mounted on horses the hunters use their eagles to hunt scarce winter prey for meat and pelts. In this harsh and remote part of the world (winter temperatures drop to -30°c) tradition and necessity have combined to preserve a unqiue way of life lost to the rest of hummanity. For those who wish to see this way of life and are willing to make the trip once a year all hunters gather in Mögii to show off their eagles and kills. It is a spectatle that I can only hope endures the test of time.

Some examples of places I have travelled and would be happy to write about (if anyone is interested in reading) include:
-Estonia

• The Trans-Siberian express
• Hong Kong
• Motorbiking Vietnam
• Cambodia
• Western Mongolia: Altai mountains
• Northern Mongolia: Tstaan (reindeer people)
• Northern Mongolia: riding the steppe
• Eastern Australia (working holiday)
• The Himalayas (trekking Mount Everest and Annapurna)
• Kashmir (northern India)
• The pamir highway (central Asia)
• western Europe