The Golden Eagle Hunter

• Prize
  Bronze in People/Culture
• Photographer
  Lorraine Yip

For thousands of years, the Golden Eagle Hunters, also known as the burkitshi, in the Altai regions of Western Mongolia have trained their own eagles for hunting. Even in today's modern world, eagle hunters are dressed in traditional handmade furs and leathers and ride on horseback, using the eagles as a tool. After raising and training these eagles to hunt, they are eventually released back into the wild in the Altai mountains so that the eagles can continue in their life cycle freely.