Beretta06 Posted March 10, 2013 Report Share Posted March 10, 2013 Today, I was lucky enough to go eagle hunting with colleagues from work. The photo shows my friend Tilek, with his eagle Akma. Believe it or not, these birds can take a fully grown wolf!!!! I hasten to add, Kazakh wolves are not as big as Canadian Timber wolves, but still impressive to watch :-) bird and man are as hard as nails. Out on the Steppe, temperatures often get down below minus 30, but they hunt throughout the winter!!! The Eagle Masters take years to train their birds and are one of the great Kazakh traditions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
halight Posted March 10, 2013 Report Share Posted March 10, 2013 Cracking mate, Is this something that you think you might get into? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beretta06 Posted March 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2013 No!! I have been out with Tilek for the last 2 seasons (worked here for the past 5 years), I just like to go and watch the guys hunting. They usually sit up on horseback to get a good view, then launch the bird at hares, foxes, wolves etc. the Steppe here is very flat, so you can see for very long distances. I have some video footage which I will try to upload when in the office. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
halight Posted March 10, 2013 Report Share Posted March 10, 2013 No!! I have been out with Tilek for the last 2 seasons (worked here for the past 5 years), I just like to go and watch the guys hunting. They usually sit up on horseback to get a good view, then launch the bird at hares, foxes, wolves etc. the Steppe here is very flat, so you can see for very long distances. I have some video footage which I will try to upload when in the office. Look forward to seeing some Video Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurchers Posted March 10, 2013 Report Share Posted March 10, 2013 That's amazing mate,you must be the luckiest man in the world well done and thanks for sharing.looking forward for the video Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shootnfish Posted March 10, 2013 Report Share Posted March 10, 2013 Awesome birds seen some clips on you tube of this. If you don't mind me asking what sort of work takes you to a place like that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FalconFN Posted March 10, 2013 Report Share Posted March 10, 2013 I imagine that is quite a sight, and one that not too many get to see with their own eyes. I'll look forward to the video if you manage to post it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beretta06 Posted March 11, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2013 Awesome birds seen some clips on you tube of this. If you don't mind me asking what sort of work takes you to a place like that? I work in the Kashagan oil project, based in Atyrau. Although called a city, it is aruond the size of a UK town. It is in the middle of the Western Steppe - almost completely flat for 800 miles in any direction!!!! The project is working to extract $790 billion of oil and alsosome gas. As a nomadic people, folk like Tilek join the companies for stability and good salaries. But, the Kazakhs are fiercely defensive of their old traditions, so hunting with eagles, riding horses and ice fishing are all maintained as much as possible. The country is the same size as Western Europe, but only has a population of 17 million - so plenty of space for hunting!! In the west we have wolves, foxes and hares. In the north and east there are also deer and bears. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted March 11, 2013 Report Share Posted March 11, 2013 Fantastic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camokid Posted March 11, 2013 Report Share Posted March 11, 2013 i have also watched the vids on youtube its hard to believe a bird can take out a fox let alone a wolf its amazing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shootnfish Posted March 11, 2013 Report Share Posted March 11, 2013 I work in the Kashagan oil project, based in Atyrau. Although called a city, it is aruond the size of a UK town. It is in the middle of the Western Steppe - almost completely flat for 800 miles in any direction!!!! The project is working to extract $790 billion of oil and alsosome gas. As a nomadic people, folk like Tilek join the companies for stability and good salaries. But, the Kazakhs are fiercely defensive of their old traditions, so hunting with eagles, riding horses and ice fishing are all maintained as much as possible. The country is the same size as Western Europe, but only has a population of 17 million - so plenty of space for hunting!! In the west we have wolves, foxes and hares. In the north and east there are also deer and bears. sounds like an interesting job, nice place too loads of space and not too many people only problem dont suppose theres much pigeon shootng to be had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beretta06 Posted March 11, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2013 sounds like an interesting job, nice place too loads of space and not too many people only problem dont suppose theres much pigeon shootng to be had. Kazakhstan planted 16 million hectares of grain last year!!!! Hard to decoy a field that is 20 000 acres in size!!! Not too many pigeons here - very few trees where the grain is grown. If any of you learnt about the Virgin Lands Project in the 50's, you will know what I mean about the scale :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shootnfish Posted March 11, 2013 Report Share Posted March 11, 2013 Kazakhstan planted 16 million hectares of grain last year!!!! Hard to decoy a field that is 20 000 acres in size!!! Not too many pigeons here - very few trees where the grain is grown. If any of you learnt about the Virgin Lands Project in the 50's, you will know what I mean about the scale :-) yes that is a pretty big field, dont think i would want to hump me decoying gear across that one im keen but not that keen! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.