Golden eagle homing in on the lure 1, Eagle Festival, Olgii, Western Mongolia
The competition for the eagle to return to the hunter's wrist was a highlight of the Eagle Festival. The eagle hunter's golden eagle is taken to the top of a hill behind the competition field and the eagle hunter waits below on his horse, holding a rabbit leg or a piece of fox meat. When the eagle's hood is removed and it is released, the hunter calls the eagle to him by waving the meat in the air and galloping his horse across the field. The time taken from release to the eagle landing on the hunter's glove is recorded and the winner is the one with the fastest time. Things do not always go according to plan. Sometimes the eagle misses the bait and has to try again, sometimes it lands on the ground and just sits there, and occasionally it just flies away to do its own thing. The photographic challenge is to anticipate when and where the eagle will get close enough to the hunter to catch the moments of capture, which can take place anywhere in a large field.
Size: 5000px × 3333px
Location: Eagle Festival, Olgii, Western Mongolia
Photo credit: © Terry Allen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: adventure, attire, competition, competitor, culture, eagle, golden, homing, horizontal, horse, hovd, hunter, kazakh, lure, meat, mongolia, mongolian, mounted, olgii, places, rabbit, raised, remote, returning, river, running, steppes, traditional, valley, west, western, wings, wrist
