Eagle Huntress

[Agapornis]

Check out this story, and AMAZING pics of a 13-yr old female eagle huntress in Mongolia. The last pic, of the eagle cuddling with the little girl is so beautiful!

BBC News - A 13-year-old eagle huntress in Mongolia

 

[TessieB]

That's incredible!

 

[Agapornis]

I know! Did you read the article? This was my favorite part:
"After years of service, on a spring morning, a hunter releases his mature eagle a final time, leaving a butchered sheep on the mountain as a farewell present. "That's how the Kazakh eagle hunters make sure that the eagles go back to nature and have their own strong newborns, for the sake of future generations," Svidensky says.

 

[SoCalWendy]

Amazing story

 

[TessieB]

I know! Did you read the article? This was my favorite part:
"After years of service, on a spring morning, a hunter releases his mature eagle a final time, leaving a butchered sheep on the mountain as a farewell present. "That's how the Kazakh eagle hunters make sure that the eagles go back to nature and have their own strong newborns, for the sake of future generations," Svidensky says.

Those people are very close to nature in the way they survive.

 

[RavensGryf]

Wow, thanks for sharing that article! Amazing... Those birds are huge!

 

[Agapornis]

I know, can you imagine the bite that beak could put on you??? and the TALONS!

 

[RavensGryf]

I know, can you imagine the bite that beak could put on you??? and the TALONS!

I was looking at the toes and talons thinking they are at least as big if not bigger than a man's hands

 

[Agapornis]

I would love to see how they train them.

 

[Mekaisto]

.
Hunting with a bird of prey is something special - you form a really strong bond. I don't hunt with my birds (illegal in Australia), but flying them is incredible.
An eagle bite actually isn't that bad, I'd much rather be bitten by an eagle than a parrot. A raptor's beak is designed to rip soft flesh, and a bite tends to pinch, rather than cut. A parrot's beak however is designed to crunch and cut hard nuts and seeds.
The feet are the dangerous bits, a claw can go right through your hand and a strong squeeze will break your arm.

I'm sure the Mongolian eagle hunters see their eagles as family, releasing them at the end must be such a bittersweet moment.
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