Incredible photos of Mongolian hunters with eagles, and one of the latest female hunters, taken by Leo Thomas.
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himIn the wild and mountainous regions of the Mongolia Western lives a small group of nomadi kazaki that keep a millenary tradition alive. I'm hunters who aided by eagles they capture various types of prey, including foxes, wolves and hares. Here hunting is not a squalid leisure "sport", but a source of livelihood.
Now there are few left, about 300, and they are almost all men, known as "burkitshi", except for about ten women, including Zamanbol, encountered in the Altai region since photographer Leo Thomas, which has gone so far to immortalize this people who are guardians of ancient traditions, on the edge of civilization.
Nomads, they live above all on pastoralism, there are few left and they do not need comfort. The essential is enough. Even when winter temperatures reach 40 degrees below zero.
And it is precisely in winter, when the snow prevents wolves and foxes from hiding, that the burkitshi venture into the mountains, together with their eagles, in the hope of catching some prey.
The eagles, only female, are patiently trained by hunters, according to the rules handed down from father to son over thousands of years. In this way a strong affinity is created between man and animal. The same between Zamanbol and her eagle, with whom the girl trains on weekends, alongside her brother Barzabai, both from a Kazakh nomadic family.
In the wonderful photos taken by Leo Thomas, Zamanbol rides a horse while wearing handmade fur clothing, accompanied by her trusted friend. Yes, let's talk about friendship because apparently the bond between hunters and eagles is something very special.
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Photo Credit: Instagram
