I happen to be from Kyrgyzstan (but now live in the SF Bay Area). While eagle hunting is fascinating, it's not unique to Kyrgyzstan and is often practiced in Kazakhstan and Mongolia (possibly Tajikistan and Uzbekistan). There was a fascinating documentary about a Mongol girl who went into this sport that is traditionally considered a man's sport (The Eagle Huntress, 2016)

I spent a month in Kyrgyzstan last year and also went to the world nomad games. You do see quite a few eagle hunters around the place offering their birds to pose with tourists for tips. People seem to be pretty into it. They put the bird on the person's arm, blindfolded, and encourage them to we their arm up and down so the bird has to flap its wings to maintain balance.

Overall I really liked Kyrgyzstan. Definitely a simpler kind of place but just well enough developed to feel comfortable. Amazing opportunities for hiking if you're comfortable just making up you own route with no trail to follow.

It's interesting to see this discussion about Kyrgyzstan. As someone originally from there, I find it a country of contrasts. Officially, the GDP per capita is quite low (around $1,970 in 2023), which paints a picture of widespread poverty. However, this figure doesn't always reflect the full reality, as many people, particularly outside the capital, rely heavily on subsistence farming. It's common for families to grow a significant portion of their own fruits and vegetables, and sometimes raise livestock, which contributes to a degree of self-sufficiency that statistics might miss.

That said, experiences can vary, especially for visitors. In the capital, Bishkek, tourists might unfortunately encounter opportunistic behavior. There have been instances where police officers have been known to stop foreigners and effectively extort money. This is a serious issue and something visitors should be aware of.

On the other hand, the country offers incredibly unique and positive experiences, especially when you get out into nature. I have vivid memories of hiking in places like Ala Archa National Park. You can be trekking through a valley, thinking you're completely alone, and then stumble upon a traditional nomadic family spending their summer there. These encounters feel worlds away from anything I've experienced in Western countries. I recall one time offering to buy kumis (a traditional fermented mare's milk drink) from a nomad, and he genuinely refused to take any money for it, simply offering it as a gesture of hospitality. These moments highlight a different, very memorable side of Kyrgyzstan."

Also seeing stone fruit growing so easily in Karakol was amazing. Apricots growing along the side of the road, no birds eating them at all. So tasty!

> These encounters feel worlds away from anything I've experienced in Western countries. I recall one time offering to buy kumis (a traditional fermented mare's milk drink) from a nomad, and he genuinely refused to take any money for it, simply offering it as a gesture of hospitality.

I guess no one has ever bought you a round?

While being bought a drink by a stranger is a rare treat, as a hyper urban person there's something humbling and grounding about the generosity you encounter from people in remote locations, especially if your GDP per capita is like 40x more

Where I live on the West Coast US it is very unusual for a stranger to buy a round. More likely if they just had a big win at the lottery machine.

Easier to be generous when a beer is 2$ instead of 8

The world is very big.

Like others mentioned, this is mostly an ethnic Kazakh tradition, not something specific to Kyrgyzstan. I visited the eagle festival in Ölgii (Mongolia) a year ago, a teenage girl won. They represent their village. There were a lot of participants, and the event ran long. It’s clearly grown in popularity, especially thanks to tourism, and doesn’t seem like a fading tradition anymore.

There's a music video by Ummet Ozcan, "Kayra" that shows videos of these eagle hunters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n21YEsQy67E

mongolian hard rock with throut singing and electrified traditional instruments the Hu https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4xZUr0BEfE

Nice pictures, but everthing else was a bit disapointing, so I am going to nitpick.

For example I did not learn, what they actually hunt. I initialy assumed by the title they hunt eagles, but they hunt with eagles, but no word of their prey or anything of how they hunt or where the eagle helps with the hunt.

I assume by letting the eagle fly to go look for bigger prey and then circeling around that area so the hunter goes there with his rifle.

But nothing about that.

And one of the titles broke the long word of outdoorsmen into

"outdoorsm

en"

Not sure if anyone think that is cool(I assume a bug, on desktop it is not broken), but I literally cannot read like this.

It's falconry with eagles instead. The bird actually catches the prey, no guns involved. The dogs flush out the prey and drive it into a position where the bird can get it. The human trains the animals and manages the hunt.

Here's a video about a Texas falconer demonstrating the general process. https://youtu.be/tWp7XcPc1gg

Well, in one of the pictures of the hunter with his eagle in the car, a gun was shown to be there as well.

But he might hunt other animals with it.

The third sentence of the article states:

" They had spent the past two decades hunting jackals and foxes together, often traveling in Talgar’s run-down Volkswagen Golf, a modern replacement for a horse."

And then a picture caption adds:

"The Taigan is a breed of sight hound native to Kyrgyzstan. They are used to flush prey, such as foxes, on a hunt."

The first part I missed, but the second part I saw but was about the dog ..

Golden eagles in Central Asian hunting traditions are primarily trained to catch small-to-medium mammals like foxes, rabbits, and occasionally young wolves - the hunter follows on horseback, the eagle spots prey from above, then swoops down to catch or immobilize it until the hunter arrives.

From the title I thought they were hunting for eagles, not with eagles.

Related: Eagle Huntress movie

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Eagle_Huntress