Uoom… A fun place

Hunting rabbits with golden eagles in Kazakhstan is common there. Anyone feel sorry for these furry creatures do not see the pictures further.

The Golden Eagle is a bird in the eagle family. In Kazakhstan it lives everywhere, except in the woodless deserts and steppes; in the south of Kazakhstan they are settled, in the North – partially migratory. Size: up to 95 cm, wing-span – up to 220 cm, weight 4-6 kg. Plumage is of the same kind, dark brown, nape and neck golden red; young individuals are white, with a wide black strip on the end; the tail, lower part of the wings has large white spots. Nestlings are pure white. The Golden Eagle is monogamous, making huge (up to 2 m in diameter) nests in niches and on the ledges of rocks and cliffs, and in trees. In March and April the hen lays 1-3 eggs (and sits on the eggs about 45 days). The nestlings leave the nest at 2.5 months of age, but parents guard them for a length of time. Golden Eagles live about 100 years under natural conditions. Their diet: in mountains – marmots, kekliks, ulars, raven and gophers; in deserts – sandpiper, rabbits, partridges, hazel grouses, turtles, snakes, etc. Occasionally it will attack foxes and badgers.

Hunting with Golden Eagles is one of the most unique features of Kazakh life. The hunter is named kusbegi or berkutchi. The experience of wild bird training was gained by Kazakh kusbegi over centuries, the secrets being passed from the father to the son and kept secret. At the present time there are few people with such a name. These masters have an innate gift for training wild birds. For hunting they tame falcons, golden eagles and eagles. Names of birds are given depending on their appearance and battle characteristics. Hunting with Golden Eagles has been goign on for ten centuries. To present a teenager with a nestling of a hunting bird was considered to wish to him to begin the courageous, strong dzhigit. To train a golden eagle is a high art. The caught bird gradually becomes accustomed to the owner. To do this, the berkutchi some nights doesn’t close his eyes and prevents the golden eagle from sleeping. The bird can eat (bits of uncooked meat) only from the hands of the owner. Afterwards, the bird will get used to the hunter, his horse and dog, and the berkutchi begins to train it to hunt for stuffed fox; only after this the real hunting begins. Specially trained golden eagles hunt for small animals: rabbits, foxes, partridge, and black hazel grouses.

Kazakh names for the Golden Eagle. For a long time, the Golden Eagle has been used as a hunting bird. Hunting with Golden Eagles is requires experience, and can only be accomplished by expert hunters (berkutchi). Hunting with Golden Eagles requires special knowledge and patience. The berkutchi name the Golden Eagle depending on age: up to 1 year – balapan, 2-year – kantubit, 3-year – tyrnekl, 4-year – tastulek, 5-year – muzbalak, 6-year – koktubit, 7-year – kana, 8-year – zhana, 9-year – maytubit , 10-year – barkyn, 11-year – barshyn, 12-year – shogel. The Golden Eagle is a very rare bird and listed in the Red books of Kazakhstan and USSR.

Equipment for hunting with hunting birds. Hunting with hunting birds requires specially prepared equipment: coverlet, cap, cushion and leash, and a Bardak – a special wooden shield for the hand – try without it to hold on your outstretched hand a bird weighing 6-7 kg! A Shyrga – skin of a hare or fox, is filled with straw. This is a training manual for the bird. The hunter drags along the shyrga with a long rope along the steppe and teaches the golden eagle to attack its prey. The Kusbegi must have inexhaustible patience and persistence.