The eagle hunting festival annually takes place in the first month of spring to propagandize the heritage of hunting with eagles. This is a traditional festival of Kazakhs who started to reside in Mongolia during the 17th century.
The modern eagle hunting festival has been initiated by a Mongolian who lives in the USA. Now, this festival has become one of the most popular festivals in Mongolia attracting both domestic and foreign tourists.
During the festival, the best eagle hunters and hunting eagles are selected through many stages and their main criterion is observing adaptation of eagles for human. It really impresses the audience.
Gallant hunters call their eagles from a long distance, and the animals land on hands of their feeders. This is essential skill of the eagle hunters. Moreover, eagles are taught by their owners to catch their hunts and grasp things on lands. Annually, the king eagle is selected, and also the most attractive hunter is selected.
The Kazakhs symbolize eagle as the animal of fortune and the sky. They train eagles for hunting from their very young ages, taking them from the nests.The animals are taught for hunting with everyday exercises, and the hunters using their hunting eagles until the age of 15 years, and free them to nature.
Body weight of eagle ranges from 3.8 to 6.5 kg, and the male eagle's weight is heavier than female eagle. It is said that eagle's life span is 25-40 years, but scientists claim that they live for up to 100 years.
The hunting eagles are commonly female because they have the natural intuition of feeding their offspring and seeking for foods.