Mongolia is home to a culture of falconry: a winter sport and a way of life. Against the backdrop of this unforgiving landscape, the Kazakh tradition of eagle hunting endures. From village to hunting ground, frozen lake to mountaintop: nearly 15 years after first visiting the wilds of western Mongolia, Frédéric Lagrange returns to capture the world of the eagle hunters.
I first travelled to western Mongolia during my very first trip to the country in the summer of 2001; I was still a photo assistant then. I had read about eagle hunting, an old Kazakh tradition still practiced by the Kazakh ethnic minority in Mongolia, mostly taking place during the winter months. I organised another trip in the winter of 2004 and planned to spend a few weeks following those eagle hunters. A huge snow storm upset my plans. Caught in a thick layer of snow on a frozen lake, my driver and I were luckily rescued by a military convoy that was passing by, and I ended up spending my precious days in a border military base waiting for the storm to pass.
Dalaikhan at home with his 2-year-old eagle flanked by fox-skin clothes made from catches from past hunts. Female eagles are the preferred choice for hunters as they are stronger, bigger and faster. Every 13 years or so, a new bird is needed and the hunter goes to look for one, generally in July, on remote, difficult-to-access mountain cliffs. Once the hunter reaches the nest, he will select a bird; if it’s a male, he will leave it behind and search for another nest. Three-month-long training then follows before the eagle can start to hunt.
I have been back to Mongolia since, to work on a book project, but I visited different parts of the country, the north, the east and central Mongolia – still keeping in mind the unfinished task I had once started. I finally went back in December 2015 to visit the Kazakh eagle hunters, and add that final work of Mongol life that would complete my book project.
Two horse-mounted eagle hunters ascending the mountain to reach their hunting ground. Western Mongolia has a very distinct landscape and different feel from the rest of the country. The Altai mountain range ends there. Most people are ethnic Kazakh living in Mongolia; some of them don’t even speak Mongol at all.
Herder and his cattle. Cattle need to be attended all year long, winter and summer. This young herder we met seemed truly unaffected by the long day spent outdoors in the cold weather.
Kuantkhan Ologban and his eagle in Shargobi, a few kilometres outside of Altai Village. On good years, an eagle will catch around 30 animals. Some years, no animals are caught at all due to extreme cold or bad weather conditions.
Altai Village. Two schoolboys on their way home. Even though Mongolia has recently become a huge hit with tourists, the country is visited little during wintertime due to extreme temperatures. We drove three hours outside of Ölgii to reach the village of Altai and its slow, almost frozen, pace of life.
Hunting ground, just outside of Altai. Eagle hunting is a thousands-of-years-old custom passed from generation to generation. It is more of a hobby and a possibility for hunters to socialise and spend time in the countryside together than a way to subsist.
Hunters dismounting their horses to scrutinise the area and decide where to head next. They happened to see a fox further down the mountain. Later on, they caught it. The older fox did not stand a chance with four eagles chasing it.
Dalaikhan drinking tea. Mongols rarely drink water, but rather drink tea throughout the day. Mongol tea is a combination of milk, tea leaves and water.
