EAGLE HUNTER
Brigitte Kraus Photos
These Berkutchys are unfortunately known as "Eagle Hunters" in the western world, but this is not just just hunting, Berkutchy is a life's profession, it is a passion actually..."We train them because of a beauty of flight not because we want them to hunt for us."The tradition of eagle-hunting is believed to have originated 6000 years ago, and was later adopted by other countries. 13th century records indicate that both Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan owned thousands of hunting birds.An eagle-hunter is called a Berkutchy. It is a life-long profession, and in Kazakhstan is often a hereditary one.
The art of wild bird training was developed over centuries, the secrets imparted from father to son.The relationship of the bird and its master is constant and all-consuming. In the training of a young eagle, the Berkutchy must sacrifice his sleep for a long period. For weeks, the growing bird is rendered sightless under its hood until its dependence on its "master" becomes complete. Such intimacy must turn into a lifelong trust with the eagle - twenty years or more. It is said that as the man trains the eagle, so does the eagle train his man. There is a proverb in Kazakhstan: "There are three things a real man should have: a fast horse, a hound, and a golden eagle.
Brigitte Kraus Photos
These Berkutchys are unfortunately known as "Eagle Hunters" in the western world, but this is not just just hunting, Berkutchy is a life's profession, it is a passion actually..."We train them because of a beauty of flight not because we want them to hunt for us."The tradition of eagle-hunting is believed to have originated 6000 years ago, and was later adopted by other countries. 13th century records indicate that both Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan owned thousands of hunting birds.An eagle-hunter is called a Berkutchy. It is a life-long profession, and in Kazakhstan is often a hereditary one.
The art of wild bird training was developed over centuries, the secrets imparted from father to son.The relationship of the bird and its master is constant and all-consuming. In the training of a young eagle, the Berkutchy must sacrifice his sleep for a long period. For weeks, the growing bird is rendered sightless under its hood until its dependence on its "master" becomes complete. Such intimacy must turn into a lifelong trust with the eagle - twenty years or more. It is said that as the man trains the eagle, so does the eagle train his man. There is a proverb in Kazakhstan: "There are three things a real man should have: a fast horse, a hound, and a golden eagle.
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