Eagle Hunters - Gary Jones ARPS
Eagle Hunters of the Altai Mountains Gary Jones ARPS In November 2019, I took a flight from my home in Hong Kong to the Mongolian capital, Ulaanbaatar. From there I flew on to Ölgii, the capital of the Banyan-Ölgii Aimag province of western Mongolia. After another 5 hour trip by truck, across harsh, unforgiving terrain and a temperature of -30 degrees, I finally reached my destination, and home for the next 10 days, a tiny collection of gers (sometimes called yurts) at the foot of the mighty Altai Mountains. My purpose – to photograph the traditional Kazakh Eagle Hunters for which this region is famed. With the advance of the Russian empire into Kazakhstan more than two centuries ago, many Kazakhs moved across the border into western Mongolia where they settled in the region of Bayan Ulgii. Here they have hunted on horseback across mountains and steppes for rabbits, marmots, foxes and even wolves, with trained golden eagles. The fur of these animals is an integral part of traditional Kazakh clothing. Eagles are taken from the wild when they are 4 years old. They are kept in the hunters’ homes and become a part of the family. Only the smaller female eagles are used by the hunters. After around 10 years of service, the eagles are released back into the wild. As well as following the hunt out on the steppe, I spent a good deal of my time in the homes of the hunters and their families. The conditions can be extremely harsh and unforgiving. Despite that, they are a most welcoming, friendly and humble people and it was a great honour to spend time with them documenting their dayto-day life. www.gazjonesphoto.com
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