central asia - hunting wolves with golden eagles

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Central Asia - Central Asia - Hunting Wolves Hunting Wolves with Golden with Golden Eagles Eagles

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Central Asia - Hunting Central Asia - Hunting Wolves with Golden Wolves with Golden

EaglesEagles

• 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.